Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Life In Flames
by Gamerfan411
Summary: A sequel to my novelization of the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers games. A girl gets transformed and sent to a world of only pokemon. Can she face her fears and find a way back? A bit of language and violence.
1. Prologue

_**Welcome to my sequel. I suggest if you haven't read my novelization already, please do so as I will be making reference to events from there in this story. Reading it will make certain events clearer.**_

_**Disclaimer: this story is mostly original to me (something I bet some people have been waiting for). The main characters and many others are my own invention though the pokemon they are, are the property of Nintendo and all of them who made the series. I have no relation to any of the companies. Believe me, for Nintendo: suing me wouldn't be worth any dirt on their shoes.**_

_**The cover-art is by ****Sunshineikimaru from DeviantArt who is quite a talented artist if I do say so myself. She is one of my favorites there.****  
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_**With that out of the way: Please enjoy this opening bit to my story.**_

PMD: Life in Flames

Prologue: Decisions, decisions

Elisa was aggraviated. For her, this state of being seemed pretty regular as she seemed to live in a state of aggravation half the time. Several things aggravated her and she had little patience for inconviences. In general though, if her parents were honest, she was typically moody (though she could be nice). They knew the source of her attitude but attempts to confront the issue had ended... badly. Thus, the most her parents could do was teach her to have patience with others.

She and her parents lived in an apartment in Jubilife City, top floor. Her parents worked at Jubilife TV and on occasion, they would need to go out of town. Not that often though.

Elisa had always considered herself mildly pretty. There were plenty of other girls in school that she figured were plenty more attractive than herself but appearance wasn't something that particularly worried her and she kept herself clean and presentable under most circumstances.

Elisa was usually seen wearing a crimson shirt (the latest fashion) and designer blue jeans around town and had a length of thick, dark-red hair (nearly matching her shirt) that seemed to avoid split-ends and other hair-issues on its own. All she had to do was brush it, and it took care of everything else about itself. She always wore her favorite beret, which was a deep black like it had been charred.

Elisa felt her life would be perfectly live-able if it weren't for one thing her parents had done. She had continually thought they had to have it in for her when they took in a stray Riolu from a local professor at the man's request. Okay, so taking it in wasn't so devious but they expected _her_ to take care of the Pokѐmon when they were away. After so many years, they had to know that she did not care about Pokѐmon or what they had to do with anyone's lives, least of all hers. So why was it they had left her to take care of the little… thing, when they had to go to some meeting for the entire day? An entire day with her least favorite form of life. They wouldn't be home again until the next day. Was there not a daycare somewhere in the world?

For starters, the Riolu was always following her about the apartment. It wasn't enough it looked like a bizarre, black and blue, two-legged dog; it had to _act_ like one too. Whenever Elisa tried to ignore it (this, she considered a mercy to it) she would get the weirdest feelings and would end up looking at the freaky animal.

_Must be one of those common abilities you see in these Pokѐmon…_

So ignoring it was forcibly prevented by the animal itself somehow.

It seemed to want something from her every now and then but she never had any idea what. This was another thing she disliked about Pokѐmon: they wanted stuff and they often couldn't make it clear to you what without hurting you. She usually tried food but it tossed the food aside and continued its demands, which did not help Elisa's mood toward it.

After some hours of dealing with this, she finally stormed out of the building, fed up with trying to cope with it.

She was greeted by the sight of a local stray Growlithe inspecting one of the bushes planted in front of the apartment. It was only too clear what it was thinking.

"Shoo, mutt!" She hissed at it and, being shy towards human beings, it yipped before running away.

She visited the local store, checking out the selection of snacks for people. Afterwards, she went for a walk around town, chatting with friends and enjoying herself.

However, evening rolled around and she knew she'd have to go back home sooner or later. The blue doggy awaited…

She returned to the apartment and wasn't surprised to find the Riolu looking to her for something yet again. Oddly, it didn't seem angry with her, rather it seemed sad (though Elisa wasn't sure how she'd determined that from its face).

_Well boo-hoo… look to someone else for sympathy._ Elisa thought miserably. She felt she wouldn't mind the company there (the old saying about misery after all…)

She noticed it had eaten one or two items of food that it had tossed aside previously.

When it pestered her for a complete hour straight, the teenager decided then, enough was enough. Her patience was spent.

She took it by the paw and led it outside. She then slammed the door on the Riolu, leaving it outside the building and headed back to her apartment room.

_I'll let back in tomorrow… I've had enough of it today. It's had something to eat so I'm sure it won't starve._

She spent the remainder of the evening looking through her favorite fashion magazines for anything she might ask her parents about when they got back. She then went to bed.

o0o

That night, Elisa found herself experiencing an odd dream. She seemed to be in a wood-paneled hallway of her apartment building, lined with doors at regular intervals. She walked down the hallway, which was dark as all the lights were off, there were no light-switches she could see, and there were no windows to be seen either, yet somehow, she could see in the dull gloom. She found the hall seemed endless as she walked several feet and still saw no sign of an end to the hallway; not even a turn, just doors. She tried a door every now and then, finding them to be locked. This wasn't to say they were all locked, but many of them just didn't look interesting to Elisa and so she passed them. Others seemed to suggest a room that Elisa wouldn't care to visit so she avoided them as well. They all looked alike, but just looking at them, Elisa got the odd feeling of what awaited on the other side. She couldn't explain it.

After some unknown amount of time, she started to notice she was feeling rather warm and things were getting hotter. It wasn't long before she was sweating and she started to jog down the hallway, now hoping to find a door that might suggest a colder room. However, it seemed that the doors had decided to stop appearing and now she was half-running down a straightaway with no branching paths.

_Oh c'mon…_ she muttered in her head _Where are all the doors now?_

Then she glanced back, hoping to check one of the previous doors... to find a dead-end directly behind her. No way to go but forward.

Things continued to get hotter and Elisa was finding it so hot she was having difficulty breathing. Fire started to pop up on the sides of the hall, embracing the wood paneling. She began to forget she was dreaming.

_No wonder it's so hot if the building's caught fire! Where's the exit?_

As if to answer her prayers for an exit, what appeared to be the door out of the building appeared and she promptly gripped the handle, hoping it wasn't also locked or she might have to try kicking it down (she was no athlete and was tired just from the run).

The handle turned freely and she wrenched it open, to suddenly be blasted with intense flames from the other side of the door! She screamed and staggered back but the flames seemed to grab her like arms and pull her towards the door.

"_Who are you?_" A voice spoke. It was a soft voice… one that almost reminded Elisa of her own mother.

"I should be asking that. Who are _you?_" Elisa responded, trying to wrestle away from the flames and put out the fire licking at her clothes. She didn't even know why she was bothering to talk to anyone when she was on fire. She didn't even notice events seemed to have slowed down while she talked with the unseen speaker.

"_No… you do not know yourself. You have given up great potential…and now it will be the end of you._"

"What? I'm going to burn to death?" Elisa screamed again as her skin started to char and undeniable pain shot through her every nerve. She tried to remind herself then that this was a dream but it felt so real she couldn't assure herself through this.

"_Unless you are willing to embrace those who look to you for the same friendship you extend to your fellow people… you will be doomed…_"

"What the heck are you _talking_ about? How about saving me instead of just talking?" Elisa cried.

"_You wish to live then?_"

"Yes! Anything to avoid burning like this!" Elisa yelled desperately, her lungs choking on the burning air.

"_Find me again. You must rely on friends or you will fail. I am she who embodies life and rebirth._"

Elisa was then completely swallowed by fire and she blacked out, hearing only one last phrase echo in her head before darkness claimed her.

"_Find me…_"


	2. A Forest Fire

_**Again, for those unfamiliar with the Explorers games and their stories, you might want to check my novelization (if you haven't read it already).**_

_**Disclaimer: Just to repeat, I do not own the Pokemon franchise in any way, shape, or form. I am a simple and very humble writer of fiction (both fan- and regular). Little more than that. I own this story but not the pokemon and their concepts and the like.**_

_**Please enjoy.**_

PDM: Life in Flames

Chapter 1: A Forest Fire

When Elisa started to regain consciousness, she was vaguely aware of the sound of fire burning.

_Am I still in the apartment? Burning away? I need to get out…_

However, there was no strength in her and besides that she oddly didn't feel uncomfortable. She felt warm but it wasn't so hot and was rather cozy in the heat that felt rather mild to her.

_Maybe I'm outside of the blaze? Yeah… a firefighter got me out safely._

Then there was a very loud cracking noise and her mind buzzed with activity out of alarm. It sounded like wood. The first thought that crossed her mind upon hearing this was that the apartment building was getting ready to collapse from the fire.

However, this idea was dismissed when there was a low, very loud groan of wood.

Elisa had heard enough trees being felled to know a collapsing tree when she heard it.

She knew immediately she couldn't be at the apartment or anywhere near it: there were no trees so close to the apartment.

_So where am I?_

"Hey, there's someone there! _Hurry_!" Someone said; their voice too distant and soft over the sound of the tree for her to really determine anything about the speaker.

The low groan of a falling tree continued, growing louder and Elisa felt someone quickly pick her up off the ground and heard running as that someone carried her quickly. They were carrying her in a rather odd fashion: she was draped over their arms, her own arms and legs hanging over each arm, her body hanging between the rescuer's arms. Shortly after, the falling tree apparently hit the ground with a loud crash very close by. The sound of burning flames continued.

She wanted to open her eyes…see who had swept her up off the ground in such a hurry but she hadn't the strength to even do that much.

"Think this one's responsible for the forest fire?" whoever was speaking was male and was the one carrying her as their voice came from directly over her.

_Me?_ Elisa thought indignantly. _I don't even play with matches! How-_

Then it occurred to her that they had said "forest fire", not "apartment fire".

This rendered her further confused in her darkness and she forgot about any accusation of being a fire-starter.

"C'mon Alex, let's not be pointing fingers at anyone. Besides, she looks like she's unconscious; how would she start it?" Someone else said, clearly a girl's voice, "Let's get out of here first, okay? It's hot enough for me to melt here."

"Point taken…" her rescuer commented "You think that's everyone then?"

"Yeah… I think we can carry her out of here ourselves."

_So someone's come to get me out of…a forest fire?_ Elisa thought, connecting her thoughts and the logic. _How'd I end up in a forest anyways? Which forest? Eterna Forest?_

She relaxed as she realized her relative safety and drifted back into unconsciousness…

_So tired…_

o0o

Elisa awoke again, to the feeling of someone prodding her in the belly. She was lying on her side.

"Hey… are you okay?" someone said and there was another prod.

She waved her hand lazily, softly swatting at the prodder's hand.

"Ugh… let me sleep…" she mumbled.

"So you're okay?" they repeated, the prodding coming to a stop.

"House burning and all… you _think_ I'm alright?" Elisa grumbled tiredly.

"Well… given what you are… I'd think you'd like that…" they said somewhat uncertainly.

"Huh?" She promptly sat up and looked around for the idiot who had suggested that.

"I would _like_ my room to burn?" she said incredulously, looking around the room she was in "Only if I want to burn to death!"

Her outrage was replaced moments later by confusion. There were no people in the room. No one was there to speak.

Then she noticed the Riolu before her.

_Wait… did I shrink? This has to be a nightmare._

This Riolu was as tall as Elisa herself was and its features seemed a lot more visible, being so much bigger. Then again, she hadn't ever really _looked_ at a Riolu this closely before. Like the Riolu she had been forced to take care of, this one had a sort of black, mask-like coloration across its face making it look mildly like a stereotypical burglar; at either end of this "mask" was what looked like a black, droopy ear. The rest of its head was a light shade of blue with a couple of points on its head that also could've been ears. These ears, along with the general head shape was what made the Riolu look so much like a dog. Its neck had a gold-colored ring like a collar around it and its arms and tail were also blue in color with a white spot on the back of each paw. Its legs were as black as its "mask". The body was half-blue, half-black.

At first, she hoped _this_ hadn't been the one who had rescued her from a forest fire but then she remembered that she had heard someone speaking so it had to have been a human, eliminating that possibility.

Her attention was then also drawn to the room around her. It looked like she was underground and someone had carved the room out of the rock. It was a small room though with only a wood window (nothing but sky out that way) and a door, also made of wood.

Her observations were cut short when someone stammered in response to her outburst.

"W-well, I don't know all fire-types' preferences… so-"

Elisa's gaze automatically turned to towards the speaker… to find herself looking at the Riolu.

_Oh no… No. This has to be a bad dream. _Has_ to be._

The shock was evidently showing on her face as the Riolu blinked, cutting himself off mid-sentence.

"What? Is there something on my face?" He brought up a paw, feeling about for whatever unsightly thing she was staring at.

Elisa shut her eyes, praying now to wake up from this bad dream.

There were several moments of silence and she thought for one hopeful moment she was waking up when the Riolu spoke up again.

"Uh… what are you doing?" he asked.

_Okay… it's apparently not a dream I'm waking up from any time soon._

"Doesn't that injury hurt?" The Riolu asked and prodded at her leg. The sting of pain made Elisa wince immediately. Dreams didn't have pain _that_ real.

"How… can I understand… a pokѐmon?" She said slowly, feeling insanity starting to creep upon her mind.

Again, her blue companion provided her with help but no hope.

"Can't all pokѐmon understand each other? What's so unusual about you understanding me?"

"I'm _human,_ dog-boy!" she snapped "Humans can't understand pokѐmon! How the heck does _this situation__** work**__?_" she yelled furiously, her volume rising as she spoke. This outburst startled and scared the Riolu, who stumbled back in his surprise and fell on his rear.

"Human?" he repeated in blunt shock "Aren't you a Vulpix? I thought humans were supposed to be bigger."

She hadn't noticed in her explosion of anger, but she had expelled a small burst of flames her from mouth, which was something else that had caused the Riolu to back away so clumsily. His response brought Elisa up short and her anger vanished to be replaced with a moment of confusion… then dread.

_Oh great Arceus above… please no…_ (This thought was out of purest habit. She'd heard her parents utter it under duress so often, it had rubbed off on her.)

She clutched at what little sanity she felt she had and looked down at herself. She wasn't human anymore. It certainly explained why the Riolu seemed so big to her as she was about the same size now.

She was most assuredly a Vulpix. She was somewhat unusually colored for one but she was a Vulpix and nothing she said to herself could make it otherwise.

She was lying on what seemed to be a completely wooden bed with a light covering of straw to make the bed more comfortable. Elisa herself, was on four legs. She was basically a fox with six tails that curled at the ends and a set of triangular, pointed ears. Her soft fur was a ruddy brownish-red. Her paws, tails, and a tuft of curled fur upon her head were the same shade of red as her hair had been when she was human. Her furry belly was a light shade of yellow. She could not see all of these features about herself without a reflection to look at, but what she could see assured her that she could not deny the reality of her new existence.

She remembered her previous dream with the voice and the experience with the flaming door.

_When I said anything to avoid burning to death… if I had thought this would happen, I wouldn't have said "anything". "Anything but be transformed" rather. _She thought, gritting her teeth.

"Um… you're not going to attack me, are you?" The Riolu said timidly, still sitting on the ground, ready to shield himself from attack.

It was a tempting proposition when she thought about that… what with how utterly aggravated she felt. She felt it would be a nice release of the stress. However, even when Elisa had been furious in the past, she had always cared enough to not take her anger out on others, even pokѐmon (but the latter might've been more out of fear of retaliation). Plus, she also had no idea how to control herself in this new body. Even if she had wanted to clobber the Riolu to make herself feel better, she wasn't sure how to go about the task.

Therefore instead, Elisa moaned and sank back down onto the bed, ready to start crying in despair.

Seeing this, the Riolu immediately got up and started trying to comfort her.

"H-hey… sorry if I hurt your feelings or anything… I- I didn't know…" he said quickly, concern in his voice.

Elisa swatted at him, shooing him away.

"Just go away." She said, moaning some more "I don't want to see you. _Especially_ you." She didn't want to be reminded about the Riolu she had seen as a human.

This of course hurt the Riolu's feelings, but he tamely turned and left, letting the former human girl quietly cry in the room alone.

o0o

Elisa drifted off to sleep without noticing and she was woken up perhaps an hour later by the Riolu again.

"Um… sorry but I was just checking if you've recovered…Guildmaster asked me to…" He said trailing off. He sounded like he was scared of being told to leave again.

He was checking a wound on her leg (the same he had prodded before).

She just remained silent and allowed him to go about his task. When he finished, the pokѐmon decided to try striking up some conversation.

"So… you're actually human?" He asked, sounding timid again.

"Used to be…" she mumbled in response "Suppose not now…" her tone was utterly dead. She sounded like a prisoner on death row who had given up hope.

"Um… well, I'm sure you'll find a way to get turned back or something." he said, giving her a smile meant to be encouraging "I've wanted to meet a human for a long time. I'm so curious about what they're like…" he sounded a little excited. She didn't respond.

After several long seconds of awkward silence, the Riolu got up the courage to ask:

"Hey… can we be friends?"

"No." she said her tone quite firm on this response. The blue Pokѐmon was deeply disappointed.

"Why not?" he asked.

"I've never cared about pokѐmon." Elisa said sullenly "I didn't ask to be turned into one. I'm not about to be _friends_ with one."

The bluntness of this statement cut deep and caused the Riolu to step back, shocked by her heartless statement.

Unable to think of what to say in response to this, he left, feeling very put-down.

o0o

Elisa was disturbed again the next day when a fairly large Pokѐmon that had rose bouquets instead of hands came in, the Riolu following.

Elisa had seen a trainer pass through Jublife City once with a pokѐmon like this one. A Roserade.

A Roserade had three blue roses for one hand, three red for the other, and a head that looked like a white rose with a leafy mask across its eyes. It had a leafy cape and legs as well. This Roserade was no different and the appearance was one of mild grace.

"You are the one the top team found at the forest fire?" The Roserade asked, clearly female.

"Top...team?" Elisa said, waking up as she had been asleep until they had come in.

"You are not familiar with exploration teams?" The Roserade asked.

"She… lost her memory…" the Riolu lied.

At first, Elisa was a bit angry the Riolu was lying about her but then realized that if the truth of her originally being human was common knowledge, there might be some who would attack her. Considering this, she decided to go ahead and play along, as it was the only other way she could think of to explain herself.

"Er… yeah… I'm not really sure how I ended up in a forest fire to begin with…" she said.

The Roserade nodded, understanding.

"I am Guildmaster Roserade. You've been allowed to rest here in my guild for the last day or so. I trust you have recovered by now?"

_No point trying to deny it._ Elisa conceded mentally and nodded.

"Well, if you've lost your memory, I suppose you'll have to be shown around the local town and get to know how things work around here. Then perhaps we can find you a home somewhere."

Elisa really didn't want to leave the room, having no idea of the world that awaited outside, but she couldn't see anyway to have things her way so, once again, she conceded to the direction events were taking her.

"Rio here has been taking care of you at my request. He will show you around town." Roserade said, lightly resting one flowery hand on the Riolu's shoulder "I hope you may regain your memory soon." She said, giving Elisa a caring smile.

Still feeling unwilling at heart to get up, Elisa nonetheless worked herself to her feet and stumbled out of bed, trying to get used to her new four-legged body.

Rio helped her along, which she also allowed, begrudgingly, until he had led her outside of what was apparently the guild. She stepped out of a cave that had a green covering over it. Glancing back, she noticed the covering was designed to look like Roserade's head.

_Nothing like a healthy bit of ego for a Guildmaster I suppose…_ Elisa thought, finding the covering to be a bit tacky for her tastes.

"Um… I've been forgetting to ask… what's your name?" Rio asked her timidly.

The former human sighed, resigning herself to being stuck with this painful reminder of her human life for the day. She wasn't about to be called "Vulpix" or any variation thereof out of a refusal to give her name.

"Elisa. It's actually Elizabeth but I prefer Elisa." She said, putting the resignation in her tone.

Rio smiled, happy to have her name.

"As the Guildmaster told you, my name's Rio. I… I'm happy to have met you Elisa." He said, giving her a warm and very friendly smile.

She didn't respond, aside from muttering "Let's just get this tour over with…" and attempting to walk on her own.


	3. Veil Island

_**A familiar face will be appearing in this chapter. Keep in mind, some time has passed between this sequel and the novelization so he's matured even more since.**_

PMD: Life in Flames

Chapter 2: Veil Island and an Old Team

The first problem with walking that Elisa had was to stop herself instinctively trying to get up on two legs. She knew already that wouldn't work but being human originally, she automatically wanted to stand up instead of what felt like crawling to her. The second issue was getting her four legs in order. She was just grateful so far to not have more legs to manage than this and to have some fur. She felt like she would've been quite embarrassed without the fur to cover her. It also felt weird having no less than six tails. Having a tail at all would've felt strange and she had to deal with having six of them.

"Silver Village is ahead." Rio commented, keeping at her side to help her up whenever she stumbled.

"What's so silver about it?" Elisa asked, looking at the small village ahead which didn't even glint any hint of silver.

"There's some silver deposits in the rocks around here. Rock-types love those. But you'll see a good number of rarer Pokѐmon around these parts too. Veil Island is sort of cut-off from much of the world."

"Veil Island? Where's that again?" The former human hadn't ever heard of such a place.

"Uh, I'm not really sure how to describe where it's at but if you can find a way to cross the ocean, you can find the much-bigger Treasure Town far to the south."

This didn't really answer Elisa's question so she gave up trying to figure out where on the planet she was.

They had arrived at Silver Village. It wasn't much to look at so Elisa, being a city girl, wasn't impressed and was immediately wishing she was home at Jubilife, human again.

The first place Rio showed her around the village was the local bank: Sleepy Bank. A Snorlax and its son ran the bank.

She couldn't see much of the Snorlax save its feet and the underside of its utterly massive body. Its son though, a Munchlax, was considerably smaller and not only more active, but the only one really running the place. The small black Pokѐmon had a large fanged mouth and a pair of pointed ears that stood straight up on top of his head; he looked friendly enough.

"Pops doesn't wake up too often so I kind of have to run things myself." The Munchlax said giving them a bright smile "We once tried running the storage system here too until Kangaskhan down the road opened up and… well, she showed a better aptitude for not eating the edible items teams trusted her with." The Munchlax chuckled shyly as he explained this.

"Fascinating…" Elisa sighed in a very unimpressed tone. Rio moved the tour onwards, showing her the storage shop for items and the item market, run by a single Kecleon.

"I hear from our visiting team the market in Treasure Town is run by two brothers. Bigger selection." Rio commented.

_So why couldn't I have been dropped there?_ Elisa thought jealously, _Even if it's not clothes, at least I'd be familiar with a shop that had a nice, big selection._

The rest of the village was residence for the small variety of Pokѐmon that lived there. She saw one or two Pokѐmon that she was sure she had heard of being used by human trainers as "starters".

"So," Rio said as the tour ended "You wanna go check out the guild?"

She wanted to escape back to bed anyways so she agreed and they headed back out of the village and went to the guild again.

The guild was actually quite small (relatively speaking according to Rio). It stood on a large outcropping of rock before a cliff (something that had been inspired by Wigglytuff's Guild, again according to Rio). They went down one ladder and from there, they came into the meeting hall which had several rooms branching off from it with a notice board in one corner.

"That's the infirmary." Rio said, pointing to the room that Elisa had been sleeping in "When someone's brought in and is unconscious, we let them rest up in there." It was to the right of the entrance.

Rio continued the tour around the walls of the meeting area, going clockwise.

"This is the Guildmaster's chamber." He said, coming to a wood door that was closed, emblazoned with a white rose.

He continued around the room to an exit on the opposite side of the meeting room from the infirmary.

"This way is to the guild members' bedrooms. I've been here only about a week so I'm still kind of trying to get used to it." Rio explained. Elisa could see a little ways down the hall, three doors that supposedly each went to these bedrooms.

Next was the notice board on the wall.

"This is where all the jobs around the island are posted. We actually get a lot more activity than you might expect for an island like ours." Rio said, gesturing at the high number of little notes posted on the board.

Elisa, to her surprise, actually found herself mildly interested by this point and looked at the board closer. The notes had all sorts of "jobs" on them, ranging from hunting down a rogue Pokѐmon, to finding an item, to simply exploring somewhere. Rio continued the tour though and indicated another ladder going up not too far from the exit-ladder.

"That way's to the sentry post. Sentret's always loved his job apparently and he's a nice guy too."

"Sentry post? I didn't see one when we came back or left…" Elisa said, a little confused.

"The covering for the guild entrance is more than decoration. Sentret looks out from the eyeholes of the covering."

"Oh… in the head…" Elisa murmured with realization, remembering only too clearly the covering for the entrance. It was about then that Sentret came down from the ladder, having overheard their conversation.

Sentret was simple in appearance. He was mainly brown and looked a little like a flying squirrel with long, rabbit-like ears and a thick striped tail that he stood up on when he wasn't crawling.

"Hiya. You're the Vulpix our visiting team from Treasure Town brought back from that forest fire, right?" he said, clearly addressing Elisa.

"Um, yeah. You're… Sentret?" she asked.

"Yep. Nice to meet'cha" Sentret gave her a sunny smile "I heard you've got amnesia. Hope you remember everything soon."

"Um, thanks…" Elisa said, somewhat shyly as Sentret waved goodbye and headed back up to the sentry post. She found herself feeling increasingly bashful in the face of all these pokѐmon. She hadn't ever had so much interaction with Pokѐmon before and experiencing it now was making her feel weird.

_As if I don't feel weird enough as it is..._

"The guild's pretty cool, isn't it?" Rio said, grinning "Maybe you could join?"

"No…" Elisa shook her head "I'm not going to join." She said adamantly.

"Aw c'mon, please…" Rio begged.

"No." she repeated, even more firmly.

"You sure?" someone spoke behind them "If you lost your memory, you might find a bit more than that as you explore."

The speaker (male from the sound of his voice) sounded familiar to Elisa and as they turned to look at the speaker, Rio gasped.

They were facing a Raichu. He looked much like a mouse with large, narrow feet and a very long, slim tail that ended in a large, yellow, lighting bolt-shaped spike. His body was primarily mustard-yellow in color though his paws were all a burnt brown and he had a white belly. He had a patch of yellow on each cheek and eyes the color of chocolate. His ears were somewhat triangular and each had a long strand of hair trailing from the tips. His appearance alone showed his strength, which intimidated Elisa. The fact that he was taller than both of them also added to how scary he seemed.

Rio was staring in awe-struck admiration.

"You… You…" he stammered "You're my inspiration!" he finally yelled, half-screaming in enthusiasm. Elisa wanted to roll her eyes, she knew a fanboy when she saw one.

The Raichu chuckled, flushing a little in the face under Rio's adoration, his rather menacing presence vanishing to show a very kind personality underneath.

"I'm… kinda not used to having fans quite like you." He told Rio, his embarassment showing through "I mean I've had others impressed with what me and my partner have done but… being an inspiration?"

"I've heard so much about you around the village!" Rio gushed "You saved the whole world or something like that I hear! I joined the guild because I heard about you!"

"Um… yeah…" the Raichu seemed a little uncomfortable on second part being mentioned.

"Uh… do I know you?" Elisa cut-in… she was sure by this point that she had heard his voice before. The Raichu looked at her and blinked a moment.

"Oh yeah… we found you out at that forest fire. I had to move fast to keep you from getting crushed under a tree." He said.

"You're… you're the one rescued me?" Elisa said, now feeling blank with shock. She had been rescued by a pokѐmon after all. Any hope thus far of a human being, being around was crushed.

"Yeah." The Raichu nodded "Quite a big job too. You didn't start that fire, did you?"

"I… I don't think so…" Elisa answered, "I don't even know how I ended up there."

The Raichu blinked, looking thoughtful, his tail swishing through the air in an odd way. He shook his head though and, stepping over to her, placed a paw gently on her head.

"Well, I can relate to losing your memory so I'm hoping as hard as everyone else that you also recover, okay?" He gave a smile that was as kind as the Guildmaster's.

She opened her mouth to ask what he meant but he cut-in.

"Oh yeah, what's your name? I've been kind of curious, come to think of it. Of course, if you can't remember…" he trailed off with a shrug.

Elisa was a little hesitant but she decided in the end to give it; she owed him after all, whether she liked it or not.

"Elisa…"

He was then giving Elisa an unusual look. Rio started to introduce him to Elisa but the electrical mouse cut in again, chuckling.

"Yes… as you've probably heard from several of the pokѐmon around here: me and my partner are a visiting exploration team. We came from Treasure Town." The Raichu said chuckling at Rio's excited mood "But I think I'll save proper introductions for when my partner comes back from her current little errand."

Rio was sad to see his idol go but the Raichu got him to calm down and promise to leave the introductions to him and his partner when the time came. Rio seemed very disappointed but agreed to the terms and the Raichu left.

"So he's the one who rescued me…" Elisa murmured to herself. Something seemed off about the Raichu… it was mostly the fact he had been giving her those strange looks as she explained herself.

Rio interrupted her thoughts.

"Elisa… please, will you join? I _really_ need a partner myself."

_Doesn't he ever quit?_ Elisa thought, trying to be patient, _Speaking to them is one thing; I have to if I'm going to get anywhere. But I've already said I'm not about to be friends. Partnership is also __off!_

"No." she said, just as firmly as before.

"Awww…"

o0o

Rio continued to pester her about joining for a good portion of the day. It was while they were wandering into a small forest she finally ended up blowing up on him. She had been trying to get away from him and had wandered into the forest without really noticing.

"_Enough_! Leave me _alone_!" She yelled at the Riolu and he recoiled, afraid of being struck.

"I've already told you: I'm not joining your stupid guild!" She burst out, her words coming from frustration.

Rio finally backed off; he walked away, hurt once again by her harsh words.

After he was gone, Elisa sat down and stewed in her frustration.

"Why can't he get it into his head I don't want to join?" she muttered irritably. She was still trying to get over how weird she found the fact that she could understand other Pokѐmon in the first place. Hearing the Riolu pester her constantly like that didn't help.

She found a fallen tree (rot and age had toppled it) and laid down on a bit of the wood that seemed soft and continued to stew in her aggravation there.

She actually dozed off without noticing.


	4. Life and Fears

PMD: Life in Flames

Chapter 3: Life and Fears

Elisa was woken up to a very unpleasant situation.

"Wut's this here?" someone's deep voice said.

"Ye heh heh… looks like someone's gone dozing on the job." This other voice was creepy in its own right and the chuckle seemed to indicate someone who was a little insane.

Elisa opened her eyes and jumped back, startled when she found herself faced with a Weezing and a Golbat, side-by-side.

The Weezing looked like a set of purple, pockmarked balls that had fused together. The face on the ball was quite ugly and the smell coming from its mouth was that of several years of landfill: horrid, for lack of a better word.

The Golbat looked like a blue bat… with a very over-sized mouth and long, sharp fangs.

"Ooh, she's awake…" the weezing said, grinning "Who might you be?"

Elisa was already quite scared, as these two didn't look very friendly at all. She was too afraid to answer.

"I hear they found a fire-type out in the middle of that forest fire." The Golbat chuckled "You wouldn't happened to be that, would you?"

Elisa backed up and fell off the fallen tree she had been sleeping on.

"If you're burning down trees like that… someone ought to make sure you don't go burning down just anywhere, yeah?" the Weezing said darkly with a grin, following her as she backed up.

"I-I didn't do anything!" Elisa protested.

"Eh… so what? You look wimpy enough and that's as good an excuse as any." The Golbat said, grinning like some freak-Dracula.

"No!" Elisa yelled and, out of instinct, spat a small bit of flames at the Golbat.

"What? You gonna _smoke_ me?" he scoffed "If you're hoping to roast either of us, you'll need a bigger flame than that."

Elisa's heart was thudding with terror. Then she heard a familiar voice and she felt sweet relief.

"Maybe _she_ can't roast you, but if you don't leave her alone, you can be sure I'll _fry_ both of you."

It was the Raichu from before. Both of her would-be assailants turned and immediately got very nervous upon seeing who was speaking.

"_You_? What are you doing around here?" the Weezing yelled in surprise.

"I didn't exactly expect to see the two of you here on this island either" The Raichu responded, sounding mildly annoyed "It's been a while though."

"We came here looking for… _different_ jobs to do." The Golbat explained, the pause seemed to imply "different" indicated "more criminal". At least, that's how Elisa figured it in her head.

The Raichu clearly didn't buy any innocent acts from the twosome.

"Brings back some memories." He commented "So, are you going to leave my little rescuee alone, or did you want to test how much stronger you've gotten against me?"

The Weezing and Golbat looked at one another.

"_Two-on-one… his little buddy isn't here… maybe we can take 'im_…" they were whispering to one another.

"Tell you what:" the raichu said with a friendly smile "I'll take it easy on you if you wanna fight. No electricity." He said and folded his arms, his tail waving about behind him like a snake. Elisa could see how rather cocky he was being and this attitude did not ease the twosome's concerns with facing him.

Finally the Weezing shook side-to-side.

"Pah… we'll leave 'Wimpy' here alone then… you just wait though…" he muttered resentfully, clearly loath to give up this opportunity.

They both left. Elisa was quite aware that the Raichu had rescued her… yet again.

"Rio told me what you said to him and where." The Raichu said, not looking angry with her strangely enough "He hadn't seen you since so I figured I ought to go looking for you to make sure you hadn't gotten yourself into trouble with someone."

"Trouble found me. They woke me up and were accusing me of starting that forest fire or whatever." Elisa said.

"Those two?" he laughed "_They_ just were making an excuse to rough you up for fun. They're really just a couple of bullies: show 'em who's boss and they'll more or less leave you alone."

"You know them?" Elisa asked, the pokѐmon's familiarity with them evident.

"They call themselves Team Skull… not very nice, were they?"

"Uh… no."

"Anyways, let's get you back to the guild if you're not too hurt."

Elisa got up and shivered. For first time since waking up in this form, she felt a little cold.

"Hmmm... you look a little pale." he commented. She mumbled about just being a bit chilly. The Raichu reached into a bag strapped over his shoulder, hanging at his side and pulled out a small apple, which he offered to her. She wasn't sure why he was giving her food when she would've liked a blanket but she accepted the apple and, unable to effectively chew, she just swallowed it whole. A minute later, heat flooded her body and she felt warm again. Noticing her somewhat surprised look, the Raichu explained:

"I've talked to fire-types...for most of them, weaker flames were signs of an empty stomach. A first sign of hunger for a fire-type tends to be when they start feeling cold or chilly. Now, if you're alright, shall we head back?"

When she considered this, she realized his point and the fact that she hadn't eaten anything at all since her transformation all made sense. She agreed to head back and they started on their way.

o0o

On the way, Elisa had a conversation that went in a direction she never would've expected.

"Rio told me a lot about you. You're originally human then?"

Elisa ground her teeth, annoyed yet again with the Riolu.

"I _thought_ he was keeping that between just the two of us." She said tensely.

"Well, I had my guesses already anyhow so I just asked."

Elisa looked up at him.

_How did he _guess_?_

The Raichu made eye contact.

"You're too unusual to be a normal Vulpix. You can't walk properly, you don't recognize your own signs of hunger, and you have a name that is _definitely_ human. I think I should know better than anyone else."

Elisa blinked, wondering what made him so much smarter.

"I suppose you'll figure it out yourself sooner or later, so I might as well tell you: I'm in the same boat as you. I'm just used to it now."

It took her a moment to figure out what he meant and then she gasped as she realized the truth:

"_You're human too_?"

"Was." He corrected "However, I've come to accept my life as it is. Besides that, I have friends here and no memory of my life before I ended up as a Pikachu."

"You… you don't want to go back to being human?" she said, slightly shocked.

"Back to what?" he said with a shrug "I don't know what I was like then or who I had with me… I've got so much more here. I know who I am here and so I'm going to stay." He said with perfect confidence.

_Wow… he's really made up his mind._

"How about you? Are you sure about not joining the guild? You might find a way to be returned if you want it that badly."

"No…" she said firmly but there was a hole in her confidence this time.

"And why not? Do you _like_ being a Vulpix?" he said with a friendly chuckle.

"Ugh, **no**!" she snapped "I want to be human again! What's with _you_?"

"Didn't I just tell you?" he said, showing patience with her "I know who I am here. But do you know who _you_ are?"

"I'm… I'm Elisa. Don't you already know my name?" she said, coming to a halt in her confusion.

He stopped as well and turned to her.

"I'm not talking about a name. I'm talking about who you are in your life. Your purpose, your objectives and aims in life. I just want to help those in trouble, have fun with friends, and explore, making a name for myself. That's who I am." he said, then pointed at her, "What do you have to do as a human? What do you hope to do?" he asked.

She thought on this and realized… she really didn't have any aims. She didn't know what she would do with herself if she was human again. The only thing that came to mind was living at home and that wasn't really an aim at all.

"Why don't you join the guild?" he offered again "At least until you've found a way to be turned back. If you can't find a way… it may not be what you want but at least you can make something of yourself here."

She felt a knot in her chest and tensed.

"But this isn't my true form. It's not what I really am." She said, unwilling to accept the idea of remaining as she was.

"If you want to be human again so bad, then what's holding you back from searching for that way then? You aren't going to be turned back if you just mope around here, doing nothing." His words were gentle but he was striking at the heart of the matter and Elisa's ears flattened out, as she didn't want to say the truth locked away in her mind. She finally found she couldn't hold it in any more though:

"I'm… I'm scared to go out there and search. I don't even know how to fight and if I run into someone like those two again…" she said quickly, then shivered, the thought of what might happen scaring her.

"So you're afraid then? Afraid of what you might run into out there? I think you ought to talk to my partner then. She could probably tell you a thing or two about being afraid. She's come a long ways though and she's faced her fears." He didn't laugh, his tone was perfectly understanding.

Elisa almost said more concerning her fears but she clamped her mouth shut and sat down, tears forming as her thoughts on her fears started to overwhelm her mind. She felt the Raichu's paw (like a hand) rub her head gently.

"Easy. Do I need to carry you to the guild again?" he said with a playful little laugh.

"I just want to go _home_." She moaned, more to herself than him.

"Then face those fears… and _find_ your way home. Take hold of the life you want." He said, still gentle but clearly trying to motivate her.

"I… I don't want to… I might be killed or… or _some_thing out there."

The Raichu sighed, his patience stretching.

"Okay then…" he said, resigned "Let's go back to the guild."

His arms gathered Elisa up and lifted her from the ground. He then proceeded to carry her back.

o0o

He set her down when they reached the entrance to the guild. He made a signal directed at Sentret up in the sentry post and Sentret disappeared from view.

"Alright… we're here Elisa." The Raichu said "I am going to ask that you apologize to Rio for being quite so rude to him. You really did hurt his feelings."

Elisa, who had long since stopped crying, looked sullen. She felt like one of her parents was telling her off now.

"He was pestering me all day-" she argued.

"Let's not be childish." He cut-in with a smirk "He really does just want to be friends with you. I think he sees some potential in you to be a good partner and I think if you put your mind to it, you _will_ be."

Elisa opened her mouth to argue again but he raised a paw, halting the words.

"Give him a chance. He told me how you didn't want to be friends. He's been looking to me for help with _you_ though... a lot. He'll be willing to help you... if you just give him that chance."

Elisa shut her mouth, heaving a sigh.

"Alright…" she said, her tone uncommitted. The Raichu called up to Sentret to open up.

The guild entrance then opened and they headed inside.


	5. Joining the Guild

_**To be honest, I'm kinda of thinking up this story as I go. I just hope I don't run out of ideas mid-way. Or else, this could slow WAY down.**_

_**But for now, I'm progressing. Enjoy.**_

PDM: Life in Flames

Chapter 4: Joining the Guild

Rio was waiting for her when she came into the guild again. The Raichu stepped into the meeting area and looked around, before walking off elsewhere, where Elisa couldn't see him.

"I… I was kind of worried about you when I left you back there like that. So I told… him." Rio said shyly, indicating the electric mouse behind them. He was still obeying the request to leave the introductions to when the Raichu wanted to make them.

"I understand…" Elisa sighed, trying to mentally motivate herself to apologize as the Raichu had asked of her.

"Look…" she finally started "I'm sorry I yelled at you like that. I'll… try to keep my temper under better control, okay?" She said, feeling very silly and weird. She wasn't used to doing this with a pokѐmon.

"It's alright." Rio said, smiling cheerfully "It's kind of my fault anyways… I shouldn't have been following you around, bugging you like that. I need to apologize as well so… I'm sorry for pestering you like that."

Elisa huffed out a breath and actually smiled for the first time since waking up as a Vulpix.

"Apology accepted," she said.

_I might as well at least try to get along a bit with him if I'm going have him tailing me in an exploration team._

"I suppose I could join the guild… for a little while anyways…" she said hesitantly.

Rio blinked, surprised by her sudden change of heart and then let out an excited whoop.

As Rio cheered and gushed with gratitude, Elisa leaned away, a little freaked out by his wild, impromptu celebrations.

_Geez… you'd think I'd just told him he was invited to that Raichu's team._

"_Thankyouthankyouthankyou _Thank you!" He yipped and then whooped again, running off elsewhere in his excitement.

The Raichu, hearing the Riolu's excited shouts poked his head around the wall just in time to see him running off, and he also saw Elisa, still frozen, on her haunches, stare at him in stunned silence. She gave him an somewhat confused look while still looking a little freaked out.

'_It was_ your_ idea, genius_.' the look managed to say. He just laughed. Then another pokѐmon stepped around the wall.

"What's so funny?" The pokѐmon asked, looking for the source of his amusement.

Elisa recognized a Glaceon when she saw one. She had actually wanted one once... until _that_ event had happened and she ceased to have any interest in pokѐmon. She didn't want to think about it and shoved the recollection aside to look at the Glaceon again.

This Glaceon had very fine fur that was nearly white as snow but it was tinged with a light shade of blue. She was four-legged (like all evolutions of an Eevee) and had a tail that ended with a point from an ice-crystal. Her ears were the shape of diamonds (like on playing cards) and she had a little patch of dense hair atop her head which also had two long strands that swung from her head and were interlaced with more ice crystals. There were more ice crystals in various places on her, which were a dark blue. Her legs were a solid shade of blue as well.

Elisa, much to her own annoyance, felt a slight pang of jealousy over the Glaceon's admittedly pretty appearance.

_Ugh... What's wrong with me? I'm comparing myself to... to _that_?_

The Raichu was continuing to laugh (quietly to himself now) and the Glaceon shook her head, rolling her eyes. Then she noticed Elisa.

"Oh, hello. And you are?" She asked politely.

Elisa immediately shied away, slightly taken aback by her forward greeting.

"No need to be shy." The Glaceon said with a friendly smile. "My name's Eve. What's yours?"

Elisa (who was starting to panic somewhat) was rescued from this situation by the Raichu stepping in on the conversation.

"You don't remember?" He said, "This is who we rescued the other day."

The Glaceon blinked and then looked at Elisa again.

"Oh…"

"Yeah… Elisa, this is my partner: Eve. We've been on an exploration team ever since we met. I'm Alex by the way." He said, introducing all three to all present. "We're Team Long Ears."

Elisa blinked… she could feel it coming… rising up in her chest… she placed a paw over her mouth, trembling and trying to hold it in. Her eyes squeezed shut, struggling to hold it down.

"Um, are you alright?" Eve asked, as the Vulpix started to quiver.

Then Elisa exploded. Laughing loudly and uncontrollably. She couldn't help it.

Eve was a bit surprised by the burst but after a moment, she started giggling as well and soon all three were laughing though Elisa was, by far, the loudest.

When she finally got breath back, she was on the ground, breathing hard.

"I'm… I'm sorry…" she gasped "It's-it's just so funny. That name…" she descended back into uncontrolled laughter.

"I know…" Alex admitted, still smiling, a little red in the face himself "I know it's silly but if you had seen us back when we first started… well, you would've seen how it fit. Personally, I like to think my ears still qualify as 'long'. Given..." he reached up and gripped one of the long hairs coming from the tips, twisting it around in his fingers, "my features."

Eve subdued her giggling down and glanced at her partner.

"We've gotten more than a little ridicule for our team name but it's who we are now and I'm proud of it." She said with a firm smile that showed that pride, "though I don't know about those hairs counting towards the length." She added with a doubtful smirk.

When Elisa finally managed to stop laughing so hard, she got up, feeling very breathless.

"Well, it's nice… to know your names…" she panted, "My rescuers…"

"We've actually got one more member of our team" Alex pointed out, "but… well; he's back at Treasure Town, keeping an eye on things for us there."

"What was your name again?" Eve asked "I didn't quite catch it because… well, because I got a little distracted." She said, the distraction obvious.

"Um… Elisa." She answered.

The Glaceon blinked.

"Wow… her name's pretty weird, just like yours Alex." Eve said, looking at him.

Elisa was in too good of a mood over the good laugh she'd just had to be angry over her name being called 'weird' but she did retort, "It's _my_ name and I'm sticking to it."

Rio came back about then, carrying a small bag similar Alex's (only different in size) and brandishing a map.

He then proceeded to explain at an excited pace about the items he was showing Elisa, apparently too excited to notice his favorite exploration team.

Elisa barely caught that the map was called a "Wonder Map" and the bag, a "Treasure Bag" before she quickly halted Rio's whirlwind pace.

"_Oh, for cryin' out loud_!" She yelled over him, "calm down already!" She was feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Rio paused and took a moment to do as told, breathing in and out.

"Alright now… one more time… slower." Elisa said calmly "Or you might as well be speaking gibberish for all I'll catch of your explanation."

Rio nodded and took another calming breath. He then explained much more clearly the functions of the various items. He also held out a small badge that was on a scarf, explaining that he had told the Guildmaster about her joining and, since she was joining Rio's team, had tasked Rio with delivering her new explorer's badge to her.

Looking more closely, she actually noticed the same badge on a worn scarf around Alex's neck (there was one around Eve's too), though the gem emblazoned in the center was a different color. She accepted the badge and, seeing nothing else to do with it, had Rio help her put it on, tying the scarf around her neck.

"Congratulations." Eve said with a friendly smile.

Elisa looked away, feeling a bit guilty.

"I don't know how much good I'm actually going to be though…" she murmured "I don't really know how to fight. I'm only joining because this guy here" she indicated Rio, "insisted I join."

"Hey, if you need to learn to fight, why don't you practice with each other?" Alex suggested "I'm sure you can avoid hurting each other too badly."

Both immediately had misgivings about this and Eve disapproved as well. Elisa was worried about getting hurt, Rio didn't like the idea of fighting his own teammate, and Eve agreed with Rio, believing teammates shouldn't fight each other, even if it was for practice. Alex won the argument in the end though when he asked Elisa.

"Well, if you're not going to practice with Rio, would you prefer to go exploring and fight out there? You'll get practice either way."

Elisa immediately found the idea of fighting Rio not quite so objectionable.

_At least he won't mean to kill me or anything. I hope…_

After that, Eve gave up with an exasperated groan and Rio conceded to try at least, though he was still clearly worried about hurting Elisa.

o0o

The first session of practice didn't go over too well. One hit and Elisa was floored. She got up though and tried swiping at Rio, who avoided the attack. He was already discouraged though; worried that he had hurt his new partner badly. The spot where Rio had hit her hurt but it wasn't staggering. She was sure though that the Riolu was holding back as much as possible while still doing damage.

The round ended with Elisa sore all over and Rio feeling ashamed of himself… especially when the Guildmaster found out. She approved about as much as Eve had. Even less actually and halted the activity immediately, forbidding it from continuing. She forced them to tell her whose idea it was.

"I _will_ have a word with Team Long Ears about this." Roserade said, very harshly and stalked off in a huff.

"I guess we won't be doing that again…" Elisa said with a nervous chuckle.

"Oh man… I'm so sorry Elisa…" Rio moaned, one paw over his face in shame.

"Relax, Rio. She didn't really tell me off and I'm good." She assured him, wincing from pain as she walked over to him.

Rio looked up at her blinking and Elisa looked at herself, wondering if he was staring at a bruise somewhere. When she didn't spot one, she looked at him.

"What." She said simply. Rio smiled.

"I… I just noticed… that's the first time you've used my name." He said slowly, almost bashfully.

"Well…" Elisa said, putting on an indignant air "Would you prefer I call you 'dog-boy', partner?" she teased and snickered.

Rio smirked, shaking his head.

"Rio, definitely Rio. Do that and I won't call you Elizabeth."

"Whatever." Elisa laughed and then dinner was called and Rio guided her towards the bedrooms. It turned out he had forgotten to mention the mess hall was a short distance from the bedrooms (the entrance being in the same hall), with a food-stock that included a door that was normally locked (the key with the Guildmaster). It was an odd arrangement for a guild but nonetheless, she didn't question this and just enjoyed the meal provided. She still felt a bit too awkward before all the other Pokѐmon and mostly kept to herself that evening.

o0o

Afterwards, Rio showed her to their bedroom. It was a simple room and just had a couple of straw beds set up on the ground.

_I would prefer a spring bed and all… but I'm not human right now so beggars can't be choosers._ Elisa thought, mentally sighing with some displeasure. It took her some effort not to complain about this arrangement but she stepped onto the bed and settled down, finding the straw to be comfortable enough and started to settle down to sleep.

Rio was already on his way to sawing logs.

_It's… been a long day…_ she reflected, _I've officially joined this guild… met and received the names of my rescuers… and I still need to practice fighting… unless I go out, it will have to be without Roserade finding out._

Drowsiness started to bog her mind down.

_I've… got a long day… ahead tomorrow. I guess… I just have to work at it…_

She then drifted off to sleep.


	6. Fire

**_I'm still setting up some characters here and proceeding with development of Elisa._**

**_I'm willing to take any and all input from reviews and the like so if anyone's got ideas, I'm willing to listen._**

**_Anyways, enjoy._**

PMD: Life in Flames

Chapter 5: Fire

Elisa was woken up in the morning by a constant ringing noise. It sounded like some sort of bell.

She blinked away some of her drowsiness and looked up at the source of the noise.

A Chingling. A little red ball in his mouth was vibrating wildly, which seemed to be making the noise waking her up. The Chingling looked like a bell Elisa might've seen around Christmas, a sleigh bell. A red-&-white striped bit of cloth (like a scarf) on its back enhanced the holiday appearance. He stopped and gave her a friendly smile.

"Hey there, a new day's here." He said brightly "Let's get out there and do it!"

He then left. Elisa sighed.

"Well, I guess he's the guild alarm clock?" she asked Rio, who was also getting up, rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah…" Rio mumbled sleepily "There is a meeting… which we're going to be late for if we don't get a move on." He got up. Elisa stretched a bit before following him.

o0o

There were a total of six apprentices in the guild, including Elisa and Rio. She knew Sentret and had just met the Chingling. There were two more apprentices that she didn't really know, one a Croconaw (a fairly large, crocodile pokemon that stood on two legs and was a patchwork of light-blue and white scaly skin) and the other a Ledyba (which looked like a very large ladybug with six hands). Team Long Ears was watching the proceedings from near the job board.

The meeting was brief, wherein they were told about their duties and tasks for the day and informed of any local events of interest to the guild.

"Alex and Eve of Team Long Ears are still present." Roserade pointed out following the briefing on duties "We expect they will be staying here a number of days, as they are investigating a legend they have traced to Veil Island. You may talk with them but please, do not pester them. We wouldn't want to leave any poor impressions of the guild." Roserade said. Roserade wasn't alone up front. There was a Jynx standing alongside her, making sure everyone was paying attention.

"Is everything clear? Then begin!" the Jynx said to the guild, with what seemed to be a slight Russian accent in her voice. Everyone nodded and headed out for their tasks, Alex and his partner stepping aside for those heading to the job board.

Rio looked over the job board. The Croconaw finished picking jobs and then noticed Elisa.

"Hey, so you're the new recruit, ya? Name's Croc." he said turning to her.

_Wow... _real_ creative name..._

He sounded friendly enough, Elisa still couldn't help feeling a little intimidated by his jaws though. He noticed this and gave a loud laugh.

"Don't worry! I don't bite, though that's what these are for. Really, I'm a nice guy." He assured her.

"It's nice to meet you." Someone said behind her and she looked back to see the Ledyba flying behind her with six job-slips in his hands, one in each.

"I'm Ledyba. What's your name?"

Elisa could feel her face getting a little hotter than usual. She wasn't used to being the center of attention under any circumstances and it made her feel quite shy. In school as a human, she had always stuck to the back of the room and tended to shy away from crowds. Now here she was in a rather similar setting, being pulled in and prompted to join in with the others in the group.

"Her name's Elisa." Rio said, coming back from the board with a couple of jobs in-hand.

"That's a nice name." Ledyba said, sounding very sincere.

"Sounds a little funny to me but hey, it's cool." Croc said pleasantly. His attitude reminded Elisa of a friendly skateboarder she'd met as a human.

"I'm… just a little nervous…" she managed to say, finding even the distant connection to her humanity a slight comfort.

"We're all here to support you. If need some help, just ask." Ledyba said, giving her a smile to try and reassure her.

"We all gotta do what we can to help. Including each other." Croc said. The two nodded in agreement.

Rather than helping her confidence though, the added attention just made Elisa wish she hadn't opened her mouth.

"See?" Rio said, patting her on the back "It shouldn't be so hard. Everyone's here to help."

Elisa sighed, trying to brace herself for the day.

"Alright… what are we doing today then?"

"I thought I'd pick somewhere simple for you. I don't think things should be too hard for you there." Rio said, showing one of the jobs he'd picked out. She read the location stated on the slip.

"Nut Forest?"

"Even if we come across something difficult, don't worry, I'm here to help. And it's close by."

Elisa felt the words would've been more comforting from Alex, who had already saved her twice from perils. However, she knew he couldn't come every time to save her so she'd have to work without. Then something else crossed her mind as she thought on that,

"Rio… what's our team name?"

"Oh… ha ha… that?" he said lamely "I um… I haven't thought of one… yet." His face was turning red with embarassment.

Elisa's ears fell. _I got stuck with the one who can't even think of a team name?_

Rio noticed the look she was giving him and groaned.

"Alright… do _you_ have an idea then?"

Elisa took a minute to think… and then realized she wasn't any better than Rio in this situation.

"Can't think of one either?" he asked when she shrugged "Well, the guildmaster gave me a day or two to think one up. If I can't before long though… we're going to just be two apprentices that work together… nothing more."

Elisa found this actually more appealing. She didn't plan to stay in the guild the rest of her life after all and if she could find a way to return to her normal state of being, sharing a team name with Rio would just go to waste anyhow.

"Well, let's get to work. Maybe we'll think one up as we go."

"Good luck Elisa." Eve called after them as they headed out "Just go for it!"

o0o

Nut Forest turned out to be the same forest Elisa had wandered into the previous day. She severely hoped she wouldn't run into Team Skull again.

"Let's see here… a Pineco got lost… and someone wanted us to find… something." Rio was mumbling, going over their two jobs. He pulled out the slips again, checking them.

"Ah yeah, that's right! A round stone deeper in." Rio said after having checked the jobs again.

"Let's start looking then…" she said, steeling herself.

The forest had a small assortment of pokѐmon in it and one of the first they ran into was a Pachirisu (which was basically a electrical squirrel about the same size as them, mostly white with blue stripes down its back and yellow cheeks).

"Uh, hi." Elisa started toward it, intending to ask about the jobs they were doing. Abruptly and for no clear reason, the Pachirisu darted forward and slammed into her in a headbutt.

"Ow! What's that for?" she cried, stumbling back in surprise. Rio stepped forward though.

"Ha!" he yelled and lunged at it, paw-first. There was an unusually loud _smack_ from the hit and the squirrel-pokѐmon was swiftly knocked to the ground before it ran off.

"You okay, Elisa?" Rio said, turning to her, concerned.

"Yeah… but why'd it attack me? I didn't _do_ anything." She complained.

"Stuff happens around here in the world. Disasters, inconveniences, rain… pokѐmon living out in areas like these tend to be… moody." He said, apparently unable to think of a better word "They take their frustrations out on those who happen to pass through."

"Awful rude…" she grumbled, though she wasn't one to talk on moodiness.

"Well, just don't be afraid to strike back. Just keep in mind most pokѐmon we come across are probably going to attack if you get close."

"Swell…" Elisa groaned. _I thought being a pokѐmon myself would make sure most didn't attack me… but no… no such luck for me. No luck at all for me lately._

They continued on into the forest, running into more of the squirrels, some Pidgey (small bird pokѐmon) and even the occasional Oddish. Having a type-advantage, Elisa found was no use if she couldn't figure out how to make use of it. Yes, she was fire-type and Oddish was grass-type, but she couldn't figure out how to spit flames at it so she ended up just swiping at it with her paws, which was considerably less effective than some fire would've been. She managed to avoid getting poisoned when it tried scattering dust on her (she held her breath) and took it down. Though Rio congratulated her for doing it successfully, the praise was wasted as she was berating herself for being unable to toast the plant even slightly.

A little deeper in, they found the Pineco they were looking for, who was quite glad to see them. Apparently (according to the Pineco), he had wanted to try exploring for himself and had gotten himself in a bit too deep.

"Thank goodness ya came. I've been trying to find me way out for hours!"

"No problem. We'll see you at the guild when we're done." Rio said and his explorer badge glinted. The Pineco vanished in a sudden beam of light.

"I'm not really sure why, but these badges hold the power to send others back to safety if used. We could actually use it to send ourselves back right now" Rio explained in response to Elisa's surprised look, "but, we need to find that stone deeper in. A Happiny apparently dropped it when she was playing near the forest and she thinks it bounced and rolled away into here."

"Um, shouldn't it be at the edges of the forest then?" Elisa said, stating the logical.

"You'd _think_ that," Rio conceded, "but given how mystery dungeons are, dropped items can end up practically _any_where inside."

"Well, I guess we'd better find it then." Elisa said, trying to put up a good mood. They were halfway done with their job and just needed to do the next half.

o0o

They arrived at a clearing Elisa remembered rather well. There was the fallen log, rotting away.

Much to her dismay, the Golbat from before was present, though he hadn't seen them yet.

"Who's that?" Rio mumbled.

"Uhhh… Let's look somewhere else for that stone." Elisa said quietly through her teeth, immediately recognizing the bat. She had no desire to repeat the experience from last time, minus Alex's rescue.

"Isn't that the stone? What that Golbat's juggling around right now?" Rio pointed out.

Elisa wanted to scream in frustration. Rio was correct. The Golbat was indeed, tossing a small and very round rock back and forth between the claws on each wing, apparently entertaining himself with it. It's ability was rather impressive, given that a bat's wings weren't designed to juggle like that.

Rio stepped forward and spoke before Elisa could react.

"Hey! We're looking for that. Could you give it to us?" he called over. The Golbat turned around, halting his juggling act to see who was talking.

"Who are you?" he sneered "I found this rock. _It's mine_!"

"No. Someone else lost it and we're looking for it for them." Rio protested "_Please_, hand it over."

The Golbat though wasn't paying any more attention to him as he had noticed Elisa behind him.

"Well, well, we meet again, Wimpy." The Golbat chuckled. Elisa's ears flatten against her head as she started wanting to run away now.

It took Rio a moment to realise the selfish bat was talking to Elisa.

"Wait, you've met?"

The Golbat still wasn't paying any attention to him. He had noticed the badge glinting at her neck and he burst out cackling.

"Oh, that's _rich!_ You're on an _exploration team_? Must be one weak team!" he laughed, clearly finding the idea of Elisa being on an exploration team to be absurd.

"Hey! Don't say that about me or my partner!" Rio yelled, finally getting the Golbat's attention when he got ready to smack the bat.

"Or what, dog-boy? You gonna punch me? Like you could reach." He scoffed.

Elisa meanwhile, was trying to get up a spine. But she didn't want to come anywhere near the Golbat.

_I'm… I'm just too scared to do this…_ she thought.

She heard Rio speaking in her defense and she looked up, still scared but she was a little surprised Rio was coming to her defense so readily. They hardly knew each other.

Rio, intent on completing the task and defending his partner, yelled and swung at the Golbat, who flapped once, effectively jumping over his attempted attack and grabbed him by the shoulders with his feet. He then swung Rio and flung him away, sending Elisa's partner flying over her head and into a tree.

"That was fun! Wanna another ride through the air, dog-boy?" the Golbat laughed again in that creepy laugh.

Elisa was still shaking but she breathed in and focused.

_I can't just let him beat us up. I need… I need stand up to him…_

She had her eyes squeezed shut as she quickly collected what courage she could and then yelled:

"Hey, ugly! Don't you call my partner dog-boy! Only I get to call him that! His name's RIO!"

The Golbat leveled a baleful gaze at her.

"What are _you_ gonna do to stop me?" he said menacingly "Make me sneeze with a bit of smoke?"

Elisa was terrified, but her previous exclamation had left her with a terrific feeling of excitement, which overrode her fear. She was still shaking but was no longer cowering.

"I- I'll turn you into… into _roast bat_!" she yelled, the first retort that came to mind. She found it lame but she was just doing what first came to mind.

"Let's see you try!" the Golbat said hotly and flew at her. Rio came darting forward though, jumping in a great leap, and smacked the Golbat over the head with one paw, taking him by surprise and stunning him.

Rio landed on the ground at Elisa's side as the Golbat shook his head, shaking off the feeling and re-gathering his scattered thoughts.

"Nice comeback, Elisa." Rio chuckled quietly.

She was noticing her heart thudding away like a drum in a parade at the time.

_I… I can't believe I managed to even say that much…_

"C'mon. We can take him. I know it!" Rio said encouragingly and jerked his head to encourage her to continue on.

Elisa swallowed hard and they charged at the Golbat.

"Huh?" he said dumbly before Elisa and Rio both jumped at him and smacked him together with their paws. The Golbat was knocked from the air.

"Ooof!"

He got up, looking furious now.

"Alright! _Playtime's over!_"

He flapped and shot at Rio at high-speed, raking the Riolu with the claws on his wings and attacking him with them. Rio screamed as the attack rained down on his head. The Golbat made the mistake of having his back to Elisa though. By now, she had gotten much more confidence and (her body burning with adrenaline) she charged at a nearby tree, jumped at it and rebounded off of it.

"Hey!" she yelled and she felt something inside her chest expand.

The Golbat looked back to see her flying at his head.

"You leave my partner _ALONE!_" she yelled, her words punctuated by a violent expulsion of flames from her mouth. The flames weren't particularly large or fearsome (though she had intended them to be), however they were enough that the Golbat yelled in terror as his head was set alight.

He promptly stopped attacking Rio and started panicking, trying to find some way to douse his head.

"Aiieeee! **Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot!**" he screamed.

Rio looked up, and then took advantage of the situation to jump at the Golbat and smack him with the palm of his paw. There was another unusually loud smack and the Golbat tumbled from the air, knocked out.

Rio retrieved the smooth, round stone from the unconscious Golbat. He felt charitable enough to snuff out the small flame still burning away on the bat's head.

"Nice work with the fire, Elisa." He said, clearly impressed.

Elisa had landed in a tumbling roll and her heart was hammering away. She felt a little sore but at that moment, she didn't care.

"I…I… I didn't know I could do that…" she breathed, amazed with the bit of acrobatics she had just performed.

"What. Breath fire?" Rio laughed.

"No!" she yelled her disbelief turning to wonder "Did you see how I… how I jumped off that tree like that?" she said.

"Sorry… I kinda missed it since this guy here was wailing on me." Rio said, sounding truly apologetic.

Elisa felt her enthusiasm build up until she burst out yelling a minute later "I was AMAZING!"

Rio was clearly enjoying her mood.

"You'll have to tell Alex and the others about your first adventure. Let's head back, now that we've got what we're looking for here."

Elisa was in high spirits the entire evening until she flopped into bed, exhausted.


	7. Inner Fire, Inner Aura

_**This chapter might not make sense (unless you consider certain elements of the story). If there's something inconsistent though, I'm willing to listen to any problems and see about fixing them.**_

_**Enjoy.**_

PMD: Life in Flames

Chapter 6: Inner Fire, Inner Aura

Alex woke her up rather early the next morning. It was still dark out.

"C'mon, I need to have a word."

Elisa was too surprised to protest or ask questions. Rio was still sound asleep.

Alex led Elisa outside and they went into a small clearing away from the guild and town. The clearing was simplistic in appearance and was decently hidden by nearby brush and some small trees, which made the area fairly dark, though there was enough light for her to see Alex clearly. He turned as she followed him in.

"Eve and I are going to be gone for the next several days so I think this is the last time I'll be seeing you or Rio for a while." Alex was usually rather jovial and cheery. However, his expression was quite serious and there was little cheer behind it. Elisa couldn't remember seeing him like this before now.

"Where are you going then?"

"Mt. Corona. I couldn't tell you more about about it except to point it out on your map. I honestly don't know much of anything about it since I'm pretty new to this area."

Curious about the mountain, she asked about where it was and Alex pulled out his own Wonder Map, pointing out a mountain beyond a large forest to the north-east. It was further north than Nut Forest...

"So, are you still having trouble getting the hang of fighting?" he continued, putting the map away.

"Well, we went to Nut Forest and I managed to beat that one Golbat there with Rio's help." Elisa said, feeling a little pride in herself for her accomplishment.

Alex looked a bit surprised for a moment.

"He was there? Alone? That's unusual."

"He… I guess he was lost or something. I really don't know but he did have an item we were looking for. So we had to fight him." Elisa said with a shrug.

Alex spent a moment thinking with his eyes closed.

"Do you think you can repeat what you did then?" he finally asked. She considered this… and she found she had no confidence. She couldn't feel the fire that she had used the previous day… she couldn't feel how to call it out again.

"No… I don't think so… I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I would guess you acted on the spur of the moment. I've done that myself a few times. But I think I've got an idea for how you might be able to get past your difficulties. Paying attention?" Alex gave her a very serious look. Elisa nodded.

Alex then explained a bit of his past, how he had woken up with very little memory of anything (just his name and he was originally human), and how he had just fought by instinct those first several days.

"As I got used to fighting, I found I didn't need to rely on instinct quite so much. In your case though Elisa, I think you will need to focus on _what_ you are at present if you want to consciously use your abilities. If you think too much as a human, it will only get in the way. So you're going to need to try and put aside any human nature and think as_ what _you are."

Elisa wanted to argue on trying to forget something like that but she kept quiet.

"Try it." Alex said simply, "I suggest you try closing your eyes."

Elisa then had to ask,

"Why are you helping me like this? I don't really know you Alex, so why are you so interested in helping me?"

Alex closed his eyes again, turning his head away with one paw at his forehead, as if thinking about what to say next carefully. He sounded worried when he spoke.

"Something's come to my attention about what we're looking for… I cannot say for certain, but you might get involved at some point. However, I cannot simply drag you along so I will have to trust you'll find the way yourself. I really do not want to explain myself further. It's a long story." Alex said, his expression rather firm "Just… trust me. Please. Or both of us could be in trouble at some point."

_Weird..._

Alex's behavior was rather disturbing and she couldn't dismiss her concerns about his sudden change in attitude.

"Alex, what-"  
>"<em>Elisa<em>." Alex cut-in her off rather sharply, startling her "I'm not entirely sure of what lies ahead for all of us. I might need your help in the future. You need to learn to fight… and to keep your head up. No more self-pity over problems you encounter. We all fail sometimes but that's when we look to others for help. Look to Rio to support you at those times and press onwards. But right now, you need to learn to support _yourself_. _Am I clear_?"

She winced as the words were somewhat harsh despite none of it being shouted at her. She nodded, she understood what he wanted. Alex's following silence prompted her to proceed with the exercise at hand without complaint.

She drove any further argument from her mind, sat down, and closed her eyes.

_Alright… focus… focus on what I am. I'd like to say I'm human… but that's not the case right now. I've been turned into a Vulpix and I need to get used to it._

Her mind was loath to part with the fact that she was human deep down. After a few minutes of struggling with her obstinate mind, she decided to handle it like she did most hard problems when she had lots of time: she started handling it one part at a time.

Rather than trying to convince herself outright about being a Vulpix, she focused one each of the individual areas of her body, getting a feel for herself, and taking a minute or two on each part.

She started with her feet. She felt the relatively cold ground and the dirt under those paws. Even her feet and legs were quite warm. She moved up, like she was mentally scanning herself. She focused on her six tails, which waved in the breeze slightly. She could feel a slight heat in them as well despite their slim appearance.  
>She moved on, focusing on her body. Her stomach was very warm and it felt almost like a furnace as there was an intense heat, burning deep within. She felt the fur covering her back bristle from the slight chill of the wind and her chest seemed to radiate heat. She sensed a number of things there. Her heart, pumping along at a steady, calm pace; the heat radiated from it like a tiny sun in her chest. The lungs seeming to grow and shrink with the air passing through them. They felt hot as well. Everything about her body was heat… burning, blazing heat. Fire within.<p>

As she thought of this heat, she felt something familiar in her chest. Something expanding. The heat seemed to gather without any part of her cooling, focusing in her core. There was definite fire burning in the center of her body. She exhaled as she focused on this and a muscle in her belly contracted, squeezing the object that had expanded.

She felt the flames climb up her throat and flare out of her mouth. It almost was as if water or some heavy vapor had come flooding out. It didn't feel burning hot. It was warm and comfortable.

The fire coming out so suddenly distracted her, breaking her focus and the feeling within vanished. She shook her head as it had left an odd feeling. She was a little surprised with herself.

"It looks like you're getting the hang of it." Alex said, the familiar smile tracing his face "Try again. Think about what brought that up."

She considered arguing but held it back.

_He's trying to help… I need to stop complaining about everything and just get a move on with what I'm doing._

She closed her eyes, focusing yet again.

_What brought it out that last time? Excitement? That's what happened with that Golbat…_

She thought about that excitement she had had… she had wanted to protect Rio…

This distracted her as well and she started to wonder if she had really already gotten so attached to the Riolu. However, realising that she had started to head off in tangents, she yanked her mind back on course.

_What was it that brought out that feeling? It was around… my chest…_

She thought it over again… focusing on her heart again, beating calmly. She felt the wind pick up and her body automatically flushed with heat to fight the chill.

_That was it! The heat!_

She breathed in as she thought about the heat radiating off of herself. The expansion in the center of her body appeared again. The only thing she could figure it was, was some sort of flame sac. She really didn't know pokemon anatomy so she went with the name for it.

She opened her eyes and tilted her head back, carefully keeping her mind focused. She then exhaled and compressed her belly in. The flaming pocket inside was compressed back down as well and the flames came up. She blew the flames a short distance into the air, lighting up the dark clearing with the slight flame for several seconds. Alex smiled, impressed.

"I think you've gotten it. Now, if you can call that up in a fight…" Alex said, with a slow nod.

"But I won't have the convenience of focusing in a fight…" Elisa said, a little worried.

"That's why you need to get out there and search for your way to be human again. Fight. Learn. You need to face whatever may come… because I can't be there to help you from here on out. Am I clear?"

"Alright Alex… I'll- I'll do what I can…" she said, still not confident. She was a little scared.

"Don't worry… I think we'll meet again… it won't be under nearly as calm circumstances. At least, it _probably_ won't. I really don't know though." he said, then they noticed dawn starting to break "Now then, daylight's coming. We need to get back to the guild. To be perfectly honest, after that whole mess with fighting practice between team members, Roserade doesn't want me speaking with you anymore. She's trying to prevent me giving more... *_ahem_* ideas."

Elisa couldn't hold back a small private giggle at this but she nodded and followed him back.

o0o

Rio was somewhat surprised when he found Elisa already out and waiting for the morning meeting to start.

"I was a bit worried when I found your bed empty like that. Because you didn't wake me up too, I thought you had run off on the guild" He said, relieved, "...and me." he added under his breath a moment later.

Elisa was about to speak when she noticed Alex out of the corner of her eye. He had one eye closed in a secretive wink and one finger pressed to his lips. He then turned to go about his usual business with his partner.

"Why would I run off? I just was taking a look at the job board… extra early." She lied. She knew as soon as the words were out she was being rather obvious and she wanted to slap herself.

"Uh… right…" Rio said, definitely not fooled and Elisa could already see him wondering what she was hiding.

"So uh, Rio," she said quickly, trying to change the subject before her partner could dig deeper "Alex is the reason you joined the guild?"

Rio flushed slightly.

"Yeah… but my dad's got something to do with it too." He replied. Despite herself, Elisa found she was immediately becoming interested and inquired further.

"My mum didn't really approve but he went off exploring all the time. She left after he was rescued from a mystery dungeon that he got in trouble in. He was always telling me about his adventures though whenever he returned. He made me want to go out there and see for myself." Rio continued with a fond smile.

"So, is he proud that you joined the guild?" she asked.

"Um… I don't know… I haven't seen him for some months now."

"What? What happened?" Elisa inclined her head, now a little concerned. She had gotten annoyed with her own parents in the past but, truth be told, she had always cared about both of them. She always worried whenever they went away, though she had always hidden those feelings. It amazed her, but she felt a connection with Rio on this point.

"He… he went missing. No one's seen him since then… so I've made it my goal to find him." Rio said, with a small smile. Elisa could see though it was tenuous and somewhat forced. It hurt for him to think about it.

"Um… I think we'll find him…" Elisa said, trying to offer her support, however she couldn't think of what to say and her words were clearly coming across as just false comfort.

"Thanks Elisa… I've… I've kind of been stuck in the guild all this time and… well, maybe with your help we can find him. At least I'll know when I see him."

"You know your dad that well?" Elisa asked, impressed as pokѐmon seemed all the same to her when they were the same species.

"He's… he's got a very unique aura." Rio explained "I've always been able to see it whenever I see him."

"Aura?"

"You don't know what aura is?" Rio asked, a little surprised and held up a paw, showing the back to Elisa.

She looked at it… but she couldn't see anything special about it.

"What? I can't see anything. What am I supposed to see exactly?"

Rio looked quite stunned.

"You can't see aura? That's kind of weird. I thought everyone could see aura if there was enough of it."

"I'm not seeing _anything_ Rio. Except your paw."

Rio considered and then shrugged.

"Hm… I guess you just can't see it for some reason. But anyways, I _will_ know my dad when I see him. Most aura is blue or red… mine's blue. But my dad's… his has always been so beautiful. It's a pure white. It's like… like _snow_ or something like that." Rio shook his head, unable to think of a better description.

"Wish I could see it…" Elisa mumbled somewhat enviously.

"I wish you could too. Aura's something I guess I take for granted as I'm pretty good with it."

"You _use it_?"

"Yep. My Force Palm move for instance." Elisa thought this over a moment before asking:

"That uh… slapping attack you used yesterday?"

"Yeah, the one I used to take down that mean Golbat. That's just a basic use for aura too. Cool, huh?"

"Yeah…" Elisa was getting interested, but then their conversation was interrupted by the rest of the guild emerging from the guild bedrooms for morning meeting. They were forced to quickly join everyone else to avoid getting in any trouble.

It was after the meeting and they were going back over to the job board that Elisa had an idea.

_I know I plan to leave when I find a way to be turned human again. But… I think I've really gotten to like Rio… and I've got an idea for a team name. _She could hardly believe she was admitting this to herself.

"Rio… our team name…" she started, somewhat shy about making the suggestion she had in mind.

"Yeah? Do you have something in mind?"

"Yeah… I actually did just now. It's your team and since you're looking for your dad and you'll recognize him by aura and that's what you use all the time… I was thinking we could take the name: Team Aura."

Rio chuckled, abashed.

"But that's excluding you from what our team is." Rio said, voicing his concerns to her.

"Don't worry about it. I'm here to support you. Isn't that what Croc and Ledyba were saying: to be there to help others?"

Rio continued to redden as his embarrassment grew.

"Thanks Elisa… I guess it's as good a team name as any."  
>"Be sure to tell Roserade. We wouldn't want to miss our chance to name our team."<p>

"Right." Rio said and quickly ran to catch up to the Guildmaster as she headed into her chambers.

Elisa took the moment to practice her focusing and think.

As she thought of the heat that was a part of her, a part of her mind thought on what she would do if she ever managed to find a way to become human again and return home.

_I'll try again with that other Riolu… I've been just horrible to him… or her… I never really paid any attention and I thought pokѐmon were just dumb animals. It's far from it though… I know this first-hand. I need to return… so I can make amends._


	8. Gangsters

_**Alright... I'm going back into this. I realize my story's quality might take a turn for the worse but hopefully, that won't be the case.**_

_**Review and give me tips if you would be so kind. I'm always aiming to improve my work.**_

PMD: Life in Flames

Chapter 7: Gangsters

Rio returned from the Guildmaster's chamber after only a few minutes.

"Alright! It's all finalized! We're officially Team Aura!" he said, the enthusiasm in his voice filling him with energy. Then he noticed Elisa, who (to him) appeared to be in a state of meditation.

"Hey Elisa, what are you doing?" he sounded interested and Elisa blinked as she broke her own focus to listen.

"Oh sorry… it's… it's just something I've been trying out." She lied (being that she had started the practice barely an hour ago), "I think it should help me with fighting when we go exploring."

"Neat." he said with a bright grin.

They then turned to the job board and looked it over, picking out jobs.

"We'd probably better go to the village and repack a bit." Rio suggested afterwards. Elisa felt she should try to get to know the pokѐmon down at the village a bit more, so she agreed with him.

o0o

On her second actual trip into Silver Village, Elisa found she rather enjoyed talking to Munchlax who was rather adorable in looks. Since she had started to trust Rio and gotten to know several pokѐmon, she found she was getting to like them more and more. She was still a little shy around newer faces though.

Kangaskhan was motherly to the two of them and was happy to hear from Rio that Elisa was his new partner, giving him her congratulations "for finding such a sweet-looking partner."

This compliment made Elisa's face burn extra hot with embarrassment but she managed to give the storage-keeper a shy smile and they headed off.

They also came across a Quilava on their way through town (his name was "Quil" for short) who was simply a local resident. Quil resembled a long-bodied mouse in some ways, with short black fur across his back and a tan-colored underbelly. There were red spots on the top of his head and on his hindquarters. He flagged them down in town by standing up on his hind legs (making him look more like a prairie dog) and calling to them, he then dropped back down to all-fours when they came.

Quil seemed quite pleased to meet a fellow fire-type and Elisa managed to choke down her anxiety enough to talk with him and have a pleasant conversation.

"Oh, and by the way, Rio," he said after they finished, turning to the Riolu with a concerned look, "Best keep an eye out wherever you go. Those three… you know who I'm talking about… _they're_ around town again, looking for jobs."

Rio grimaced and Elisa was left wondering whom they were talking about.

"Okay Quil, thanks for telling us." He said, his voice edged with concern now.

Quil nodded, bade Elisa a cheery goodbye and went back to going about his business.

"Who are 'they'?" Elisa asked almost immediately.

"I'd… rather not talk about them." Rio said, swallowing "I just hope we don't run into them. I've already had one run-in with them… I definitely don't want another."

o0o

However, Elisa _did_ find out who Quil had been speaking of on their way back towards the guild. They were a good ways from town and still had to walk a bit further before the guild would come into view when Rio stopped.

"Over here…" he said quietly and quickly guided Elisa behind a boulder and some brush.

Three voices came up the path, engaged in conversation with one another.

They got louder as they came closer until finally the group walked by the rock Team Aura was hiding behind. Elisa recognized two of them for what pokemon they were, the third was a pokѐmon she'd never seen before.

One was a Honchkrow. He was a big and very bulky bird, most of the bulk was likely the black feathers. He could've been a very large raven. There was also a plume of white and red tail-feathers, clearly visible from the back. Though she couldn't see much of it from the back, she knew a Honchkrow's front had a crest of white feathers on its chest like all those feathers were a suit. Then there was also the dense collection of feathers atop the Honchkrow's head, which had the distinctive shape of a very elegant, black fedora.

To the Honchkrow's left, was the other pokѐmon Elisa recognized and knew it was the pre-evolved form: a Murkrow. He was considerably smaller than the evolved counter-part and his feathers weren't nearly so neatly arranged and looked very ragged. The feathers atop his head were also distinctively shaped like a hat but it was more of a gangster's hat instead.

To the right of the Honchkrow, was the pokѐmon she didn't recognize but its appearance from the back did not show much. The pokѐmon hovered through the air on a black, glider-like veil of skin and had a tail of decent length with a pincer on the end and she could see a set of crab-like claws for hands and its head, which had bat-like ears. It was about the same size as the Honchkrow it was following.

The two of them watched the trio proceed down the road and Elisa shifted to get a better look past the brush. She wasn't sure, but she thought the Murkrow glanced back and noticed her. He didn't show any indication of having seen her though and turned back around to tail the other two again.

They stepped out from behind the rock once the three had gone.

"Who were they?" she asked.

"The ones who cornered me once." Rio said resentfully "My dad and the Guildmaster stopped them before they actually did anything but I don't think I've ever been more afraid before in my life."

"They… they cornered you? What did they want?" Elisa said, little shocked.

"They thought I had something of value… and wanted it. They're a traveling exploration team who doesn't really help anyone except themselves. They call themselves Team Gangster."

Elisa found herself hoping not to experience a run-in with them either.

"C'mon, before they return." Rio said tensely and started towards the guild. Elisa followed without a word.

"The one in the middle was Honchkrow, their leader." Rio explained as they walked. Elisa had been about to ask and realized Rio had gotten a step ahead of her.

"The one on his left was Mort. He likes to think of himself as his boss's successor, but all he does is get information for them. He's really a coward. The other one was Gliscor. But he likes others to call him Grim just because of his self-proclaimed title. He's Honchkrow's main pokѐmon." Rio sounded unnaturally angry as he explained and Elisa could easily sense the intense dislike- possibly hate- Rio had for Team Gangster. She also found herself wondering how he knew the three so well.

As they entered the guild, Rio seemed to relax a bit and exhaled, clearly calming himself.

"They never really visit the guild… when they look for jobs; they generally bully someone else into surrendering it." Rio pointed out "Either that, or Mort comes looking if he can manage to get in."

"Are you… okay Rio?" Elisa said tentatively.

"Yeah… I'll be alright. I've learned to see those guys coming so I can usually avoid them. Even when they spot me, I'm fast enough to get to the guild or somewhere safe before they can catch me."

"What did they want from you that one time anyways?" Elisa asked, now curious.

"It… it wasn't anything important…" Rio said but he looked away and Elisa could tell he was hiding something. Elisa was tempted to press him for answers but she wasn't about to become a pest to Rio.

"C'mon, let's check the job board one more time and get out exploring." Rio said, walking rather stiffly over to the board.

_He's not that good at hiding when he's upset…_ Elisa thought, noticing his step. She didn't speak though and followed him. Rio had soon picked out a small collection of jobs.

"Denwood Forest. That's that forest you were found at. Half of it's still burnt to the ground of course but apparently a mystery dungeon has been sighted there." Rio explained, showing the jobs. He then pulled out the map (which was displaying the island) and pointed to a forest to the north, a mountain beyond it. She could see Nut Forest a short distance to the south-east of the village on the map as well.

"Maybe I can find a hint about how I ended up a pokѐmon while we're there." Elisa said, looking at the slips.

"Well, let's go then."

o0o

Denwood Forest smelled of wet wood and ash. The trees were huge from what Elisa could see, though she suspected the trees wouldn't have seemed so irregularly big if she had been human. It was mainly quiet in the forest. She noticed, out of the corner of her eye, two familar figures a far distance away; it was Team Long Ears, apparently on their way to Mt. Corona. Alex just waved and that was all Elisa could see of him from that distance.

_I guess we won't be seeing them again for a several days then..._

"Beautiful isn't it?" Rio said, looking at the portion of the forest that wasn't burnt; he hadn't noticed the two over in the distance. Elisa found her gaze drawn towards the flame-touched half of the forest, which still had some greenery here and there but most of the ground was covered in blackened, burnt grass and the trees were scarred. The other half of the forest was indeed beautiful in the sunlight that managed to stream through the green roof overhead. Both halves of the forest were slightly overgrown with tree roots sticking up from the ground, though grass fought for territory as well in the little space granted.

"It still amazes me a fire got started here at all. I know it's a forest but the trees are so big and wood like this doesn't burn as easily as you'd expect. It took one huge team of water-types to stop the fire I hear." Rio commented, looking around with a peaceful smile.

"Another reason I doubt I caused that forest fire, even accidentally." Elisa said.

"Well, let's get moving."

o0o

The forest seemed suitable for giants. Elisa kept expecting to see pokѐmon as big as the trees to appear. Ironically, the Pokѐmon that they did come across were rarely bigger than themselves. They came across Chikorita on occasion (a four-legged grass-type with a leaf growing of its head) and Elisa took the opportunity to practice fighting with fire.

Her aggressive opponent started off by twisting it head around in a sharp circle, causing its head leaf to detach (re-growing with impressive speed) and hurling the sharp-edged pieces of plant at Elisa. She actually found the edges of the leaves were somewhat dulled when they hit her high-temperature fur, crisping and doing less damage than they would have otherwise.

She smirked at her opponent, "_My turn."_

She then exhaled and the desired flare of embers flew from her mouth. The grass-type quickly staggered back, scared by the flames and ran off after getting seared across its side.

Elisa felt a great deal of satisfaction with herself for this.

There were also birds living in the forest, including Spearow (vicious little birds with small wings and bad tempers) and some Starly (very small, black and white birds) and Pidgey (which she was getting used to seeing now). It was harder for Elisa to use her fire as it was more difficult to focus when she was experiencing more severe pain, such as when she was being pecked over the head. One Spearow got in her face and she couldn't bring out her fire, much to her own annoyance. So she swiped at the bird with her paws instead, Rio darting forward to support her attacks.

Elisa wasn't fighting all the battles up front though, as when they came across a Sudowoodo (a rock-type that intentionally tried to look like a small tree), Elisa allowed Rio to handle it once she realized the tree look-alike's true consistency. Such fights were simple for Rio, who lunged forward and slapped the rock-type in the chest, using aura to seemingly shatter the pokѐmon on the receiving end.

_We're actually working together more like a team now._ Elisa thought as they proceeded, completing their tasks, and she found herself actually quite happy. It was a feeling she hadn't truly felt in a long time.

_It's… been some years since I felt this way…_

Elisa found out something else about her condition as a Vulpix when they ran across a Growlithe wandering the fire-scarred portions of the forest. It breathed a few flames at Rio, who backed up, shielding his face from the flames.

Elisa stepped up and swiped at the Growlithe, which growled and spat more fire. Her human instincts made her brace herself for pain however, the fire broke across her and it didn't hurt at all.

She looked up and felt the fire getting sucked into her, her entire body heating up. The sensation made her jitter as it felt like she had been filled with energy.

She focused with even greater ease than previously and acting on pokѐmon-instinct this time, she returned fire, literally. It turned out that the Growlithe had the same fire-absorbing ability as her though and it seemed energized by her intensified flames.

It charged forward and tried to bite her instead but she managed to dodge around the attack and slapped it on the nose. Rio leapt forward and finished the fight, knocking it to the ground.

"That… was kinda freaky…" she murmured. Her body still felt unusually warm but not uncomfortably so.

"I'm not entirely sure why Vulpix like you absorb flames either. I'm pretty sure not _all_ fire-types absorb fire like that." Rio said, rubbing his head with one hand, and then wincing at a burn on his arm. Elisa automatically stepped back as if she were the source of the pain.

"Don't worry," Rio said, noticing her action "It's not you, it just hurts…"

"I… uh, I thought being so close to me was what caused it to hurt… so much heat and all…" she mumbled, apologetic.

"Nah, it would just hurt either way." Rio said as he rummaged in their treasure bag and pulled out what Elisa was sure was a rawst berry, which he ate. He gripped the burn for a few more moments and then the pain in his expression went away and they proceeded, the burn no longer bothering him.

"Honestly, fire's always scared me a bit…" Rio commented as they traveled, "but when I saw you… I don't know why… I knew you were a fire-type as well… but I just knew there wasn't anything to be afraid of…" he shrugged when she gave him a quizzical look, "Call it a sixth sense. I was right, wasn't I?"

She considered teasing him about actually how she had thought of attacking him in her frustration then but she thought better of it. Besides that, they had arrived a small clearing.

There was nothing to be seen in the clearing, save for a very large tree that had fallen over. Several other trees that had been in its path were severely damaged from collision (smaller ones completely crushed) and the dead tree was wedged between two larger ones. There were clear signs of heavy fire-damage to all the trees in the area.

Then she recalled what Alex had said about the conditions of her rescue.

"I wonder…" she murmured and searched around the tree.

Rio was obviously puzzled at first and asked what she was looking for.

"Alex said he had to rescue me from being crushed… under a tree." Elisa pointed out "I'm wondering if I can find anything here that might show how I got here…"

Rio helped, but the only thing they really spotted was a very large patch of burnt ground that looked as if a bomb of some sort might've gone off there. It was half-obscured by the mass of the fallen tree. They were considering moving on when they were surprised,

"Rio! It's good to see you again!" A very heavy-set voice suddenly called from behind them.

Rio jumped, his face immediately going rigid as he whirled to face the speaker. Elisa initially wondered why Rio had reacted so wildly, but upon turning around, she saw precisely why.

Team Gangster was directly behind them, barring the way back.


	9. An Unexpected Encounter

_**Alright, let's try this again. I've redone a big chunk of this story from what it had been originally. I owe great thanks to Tanon for pointing out that problem with the previous version. I suspected it was there but I couldn't be sure. I'm hoping I mended that here.**_

_**And please, if you see any more Deux Ex Machina in this story: let me KNOW. I'm a writer who aims for at least some class in my writing. I don't like doing that sort of thing to my readers.**_

_**Please enjoy and even if it's a good story, let me know if I'm being over-the-top with events.**_

PMD: Life in Flames

Chapter 8: An Unexpected Encounter

There were a few ways out of the clearing but the most direct route back to the guild was straight past Team Gangster.

Elisa then got her first look at Gliscor from the front… and wished she hadn't. Gliscor's appearance from this new angle was disturbing as Gliscor's upper and lower body seemed to be almost completely disconnected, the glider-like veil of skin (which he was flying on) being the only connection. His short legs and tail had nothing save that flesh connecting it to his chest and arms. How his body functioned in that state was beyond comprehension to Elisa. Then there was his face. Gliscor had a demonic-looking grin on his face and eyes that were nearly a solid yellow with only the faintest distinctions for his pupils.

Elisa's stomach turned just looking at the trio, especially Gliscor.

"I see you've managed to find yourself a companion for your team, Rio. My congratulations. You might make a good team leader yet." Honchkrow said in surprisingly genial tones. It reflected nothing but a gentleman (or rather gentlebird).

Rio apparently wasn't going to trust any words from him though as the Riolu continued to glare at him.

"I don't plan to be any flunkie of yours Honchkrow. Didn't the Guildmaster and my Dad make that clear enough last time?" Rio responded.

"Why, I haven't even _asked _yet Rio. What makes you think I haven't found the new member I seek?" the crow-pokemon said, sounding innocent.

"You wouldn't be hounding me if you had convinced someone else to join."

Elisa was immediately confused. _Wait… he wants Rio to _join_ his team? Didn't he want an item from him? What's going on here?_

"A shame…" Honchkrow murmured, bowing his head slightly "I might have found that 'someone else'… just now." The raven looked directly Elisa "How about you, young fox?"

Elisa stumbled backwards in her astonishment as she realized the offer was being extended to _her_ now.

"I would gladly welcome you to my team with open wings." The bird offered in almost fatherly tones.

"Elisa… don't-" Rio said tensely.

Without warning, Gliscor at Honchkrow's right swiftly swooped forward and slammed Rio to the ground with one of his pincer-like claws, hunched over him exactly like a predator.

"You don't speak for the little lady. Know your place, hatchling." Gliscor hissed at him, a chilling glee in his voice. This fast act of violence shocked Elisa but she recovered quickly enough to respond,

"I'm not joining _anyone_ who threatens others like this! And I'm _certainly_ not joining any team with someone as hideous as **you** are!" She declared indignantly.

Elisa had to jump back quickly when Gliscor swung his free claw at her and nearly cut her across the face.

"_Come again_?" he said menacingly.

Elisa was about to scream out of fear but Rio suddenly lunged up at Gliscor's face, slapping him with Force Palm. The desperate attack took him by surprise and he lifted off of Rio in his surprise and then he seemed to stiffen and tumbled to the ground.

"He's paralyzed! **Run!**" Rio yelled, scrambling to his feet, Elisa following him without hesitation.

They escaped from the clearing, running into other parts of the forest. They could barely hear the soft sound of wings taking to the air (they could clearly hear Gliscor cursing behind them)… Team Gangster was giving pursuit.

"We need to find another way out of the forest. Hopefully, they'll lose us in here. It's hard to chase down anyone in a mystery dungeon but if we don't keep on the move, they'll find us sooner or later." Rio said quickly. Elisa was just focusing on keeping up with him.

Forest residents slowed them down, as they were forced to fight pokemon that insisted on barring their way.

A Gloom appeared at one point and Elisa struck first, using her fire immediately and spitting flames at the flowerbud pokemon. Elisa's practice was starting to pay off as she had managed to keep focused on the move, hence her initiative in the fight. Rio shot forward, striking at the flower-bud and finishing it. Elisa had no time to admire her new talent though as she just continued running with Rio. She only wished to get away from Team Gangster and get back to the guild.

Another Sudowoodo attempted to block them. It went down fast when Rio charged ahead of Elisa and slammed it hard with his Force Palm move.

"Out of our way!" Rio yelled as it fell and they continued running.

Birds living in the forest trees were drawn by the commotion they made in their sprint and Elisa was forced to deal with them. She toasted one Pidgey with flames and an aggressive Spearow rapped her over the head with its sharp beak. The pain broke her focus and Rio had to distract the birds to keep her from getting overwhelmed. Elisa, finding she couldn't refocus herself quickly enough, swiped with her paws at the bird instead, batting it out of the air over her head.

Another Pidgey flew up and slammed into her headfirst. She nearly collapsed right then.

"Rio, help!" Elisa cried. She was quickly getting worn down.

Rio growled in frustration and slapped the Pidgey with Force Palm, knocking it out of the air completely.

The Spearow, angered over being struck earlier, started pecking him on the head instead. Elisa summoned what focus she could and spat more flames at the Spearow. It squawked in alarm as its feathers were lit up and flew off in a panic.

Then even more birds came down.

"Agh! Just run!" Rio cried and they fled from the incoming flock.

They managed to lose the swarm of birds and Rio took a moment to check on Elisa.

"Are you okay Elisa?" he panted, trying to catch his breath.

"Ugh… those birds… that hurt…" Elisa groaned and Rio noticed she was unsteady on her feet.

He quickly dug in their treasure bag and pulled out a round blue berry that Elisa recognized was an oran berry. She knew enough about berries to know it would help and ate the berry when it was offered to her. As a human, Elisa had never considered trying to eat berries like these. She associated them with pokemon, thus she hadn't so much as touched them before.

The sweet and varied flavor of the oran berry surprised her and she blinked before swallowing. A moment later, she felt a strong burst of energy and quivered as a great sense of renewal flooded her.

"Whoa… those oran berries are _good_…" she murmured, stunned.

"We can admire the taste another time Elisa. Now's not the time!" Rio said somewhat impatiently and led her onwards.

However, they didn't get far before they reached an edge of the forest…and ran straight into a solid rock wall. They were at the very base of a cliff.

"We'll have to find another route." Rio said through his teeth, looking up the sheer cliff "I think this is one face of Mt. Corona."

Elisa remembered the mountain on the Wonder Map. They were clearly going in a completely wrong direction if they wanted to get back to the guild as the mountain was on the opposite side of Denwood Forest from Silver Village. She had hoped they would've ended up going out one of the other sides of the forest or found another way out towards the village. No such luck.

"End of the line." Gliscor's voice growled and they turned to find their only path blocked off. They were cornered against the cliff as Gliscor would easily cut them off if they attempted to run in any other direction.

"No one escapes the Reaper." Gliscor said. It took Elisa a minute to realize this was his self-proclaimed title and wanted to roll her eyes but given their newest situation, she didn't.

The rest of Team Gangster flew in moments later and Honchkrow looked smug.

"Where were we?" He said pleasantly "Ah yes… would either of you reconsider my offer to join? Or does Gliscor need to provide you with better incentive?"

Gliscor flexed one claw, his unsettling eyes glinting. It was only too clear what the "incentive" was.

Rio stepped in front of Elisa protectively.

"No means **no**. How many times do I have to tell you?" Rio said tightly.

Honchkrow sighed, quite disappointed.

"Gliscor…" he said, sounding resigned "Just be sure they can still fight when they recover."

"I'll try…" Gliscor chuckled and swooped at them.

Rio raised his arms and attempted to fend off Gliscor's assault. He staggered under just the first blow though.

Feeling desperate, Elisa attempted to attack Gliscor, blowing small flames at his face.

He shook his head as the embers singed his face but it only seemed to irritate him. Elisa was knocked into the rock wall by Gliscor's counter attack.

"Did you really think _that_ was going to even faze me? Maybe we ought to stick with Rio here and get rid of _you_."

"Gliscor..." Honchkrow said warningly. Elisa could tell an unspoken message was being sent: _"I want her as well."_

_"_I know..." he muttered, sounding deprived "Ah well, at least I'm having some fun with your pitiful resistance."

Rio was trying to work himself to his feet again and Gliscor grabbed him by the arm with his tail-pincer. Fortunately, Elisa never found out what he might've done next.

"Hey! That's enough!"

Elisa recognized that voice quickly enough and looked up.

Alex was directly behind Team Gangster.

"If you're going to fight someone, how about you pick on someone who actually has the strength to fight _back!_" Alex was breathing hard as he yelled this. It was evident that he had run much of the way to the location.

Gliscor ignored him (after all, the rest of his team was still in the way) and was about do something to Rio when Alex was quite suddenly inches from him.

"What? _Are you ugly **and** deaf?"_ Alex snarled quietly. Elisa hadn't seen anger on Alex's face before now. She found him quite intimidating. The Raichu kicked Gliscor's tail with one foot, forcing him to let go and then his long tail whipped forward and the bolt-shaped spike slammed Gliscor full in the face, causing him to tumble backwards through the air before righting himself in the air.

Elisa blinked...

_How did he get over here like that? I didn't even see him move._

"You two alright?" Alex said, glancing back at them. Rio had fallen to the ground after Gliscor had been forced to let go.

"Yeah... we're a little scratched up but we'll live." Rio said, gripping one of his more serious wounds in pain.

Alex had to turn his attention back to Gliscor, who attempted to swoop forward and strike while Alex was looking at Team Aura.

"_Back off_!" Alex yelled. There was a deafening **crack** like lightning and electricity jumped from Alex, electrocuting Gliscor.

"_Yeeeeoooww!"_ he screamed and quickly backed off as commanded. Mort next to Honchkrow picked an oran berry out of their team's treasure bag and threw at it Gliscor, who caught it in his mouth and swallowed. He straightened up a moment later, renewed.

"Who... are you?" Honchkrow said coldly, he sounded very annoyed.

"You didn't hear about a visiting team? The name's Alex." he said, glaring down both Gliscor and Honchkrow.

"This is matter is none of your concern... Alex." Honchkrow said, the name clearly unfamilar to him.

"Yeah? Well, I'm on an exploration team and I'd say it _is_ my concern. Part of being an exploration team is helping those who need it." Alex retorted.

"Hmph... you may be electric-type but Gliscor here has dealt with far tougher than you." Honchkrow sniffed arrogantly.

Alex didn't speak, but electricity started arcing around him and his tail, ready to fight. Elisa and Rio had to back up to avoid possibly getting electrocuted themselves.

Then another familar voice came from behind Team Gangster.

"_Alex! Wait up!_"

A moment later, Eve came running out from where Alex had emerged moments ago. She was breathing very hard and then looked up, about to speak up again but stopped when she saw Team Gangster. It didn't take her long to realize what was going on. She got defensive very quickly.

Team Gangster turned around and Honchkrow's arrogance immediately evaporated when he saw her.

"W-who are _you_?" he yelped in surprise like Eve had just bitten him.

"_She's_ my partner." Alex said tightly, "Now, are you going to go away quietly, or do we need to teach the three of you a lesson?"

All three members of Team Gangster looked very uneasy being surrounded as they were but they were staring at Eve like she was a frightful monster. Honchkrow seemed to wrestle with himself for about a minute, trying to think of a smart response but he finally groaned.

"Fine, we'll be going..." he said, defeat in his tones. They backed off and then flew away once they were a comfortable distance from the twosome. Once they were out of sight, Eve turned her attention to her partner.

"I wish you'd _warn_ me before you run off like that!" she said, still catching her breath, "You should know already I'm not that good at running."

"Sorry... I heard the fight going on over this way and I had to hurry." Alex said, his breathing slowing down to a regular pace.

"Wait, I thought you were going to Mt. Corona." Elisa interjected.

"We were..." Alex explained "But after I waved to you back when you were going in, I noticed those three fly in after you a few seconds later. Frankly... they looked shady and that gave me a bad feeling about what was going to happen so I followed them in. If this forest weren't a mystery dungeon, I might've gotten here sooner before either of you got hurt. Sorry about that..."

"I think you should be apologizing to _me._" Eve said pointedly, sounding irate, "We've been planning to go to Mt. Corona and you leave me thinking you're going to waste our day meant for getting started up the mountain, going into this forest instead. Don't get me wrong, I understand wanting to help someone in trouble, but you just _took off_ without saying a word to me! I didn't realize what you were doing until just _now_."

"Ah... yeah..." Alex said, flushing red in the face "Sorry Eve... but I... well, I just felt I needed to help and there wasn't really time to waste... sorry..."

The Glaceon rolled her eyes but smiled, the apology apparently accepted.

Rio had a look of mild confusion on his face. He was trying to figure out when Alex had told her about Team Long Ears's planned trip to Mt. Corona.

"Hey Rio... why do those three want you on their team anyways?" Elisa asked "I don't think you'd be strong enough yet for a team like them..." this question drew Rio away from his pondering.

"Yeah... well, they'd fix that in a hurry... they want me for what I can do. They want to cover their weaknesses." He said sullenly.

The only weakness that Elisa could see was that the team had been all flying.

"How would you help against an electric-type like Alex? Even if you were strong enough?" she asked, puzzled.

"They weren't worried about fighting _me_, Elisa." Alex said, sounding mildly amused, "You didn't notice the rather dramatic reaction to Eve?"

"Ice?" Elisa wasn't familar with some of the rarer pokemon types (such as ice-type) so she was unfamiliar the type match-ups for it.

"It's hard to tell just by looking, but a Gliscor is ground- and flying-type. He's actually resistant to my electrical attacks. But ice... that's practically death for a pokemon like him. Combine that with a team full of flying-types... and you've got a very poorly constructed team that Eve could decimate all by herself. That Honchkrow can probably put up a good fight too but all three of them would fall to one good ice-attack."

"Hence... they want a fighting-type..." Rio pointed out.

"Or fire." Alex added.

"Fire melts ice..." she muttered, finally understanding why they were interested in her too.

"Um... could we stop talking about my weaknesses?" Eve said, sounding uncomfortable. Alex gave his partner another apologetic glance and then he turned to Elisa and Rio again.

"Alright, that's enough standing around, explaining. I don't think Eve is going to tolerate any more delays on our exploration so we're going to get you back to the entrance of the forest and set you on your way out." he said, and neither of them argued against that business-like tone.

o0o

On the way through the forest, Elisa had more questions for Alex.

"What was with that speed you showed back there? I don't think I could ever move so fast."

"That?" Alex thought about it then shrugged "It's just something I've mastered using. I've met an Alakazam on one of my trips, he told me it was the move 'Agility'. I think he might've been impressed when he saw it. Personally, I just see it as focusing myself and moving quick."

Elisa accepted this and then smirked as she thought about their last one-on-one conversation.

"So, I thought we wouldn't be meeting again." she said, almost teasingly. Alex responded with a very serious look that prompted her to quickly stop fooling around.

"I _did_ say that. You got lucky this time around. The first time, we just happened to find you in the middle of that forest fire. We were rescuing pokemon in trouble because of the blaze so you were technically among those pokemon. The second time, I went looking for you because of Rio. This time... I just happened to be in the area and noticed trouble on its way." he spoke quietly so only she heard him, "I'm serious Elisa, I _cannot_ be around anymore to get you out of these messes."

She felt her ears flatten against her head in shame and, seeing this, Alex gave her an encouraging smile.

"Just keep yourself out of trouble, okay? You got that far into this forest so you've certainly gotten stronger. Keep it up and stand up for yourself."

He rubbed her playfully on the head, which seemed to be developing into a habit for him.

They arrived at the entrance to the forest and they parted ways there, Alex and Eve going back towards Mt. Corona, Elisa and Rio going back to the guild.

o0o

Elisa and Rio later arrived, unmolested at the guild and met with their clients that they had originally gone to Denwood for (Elisa had nearly forgotten in all of the commotion with Team Gangster). They received their rewards and waited the remainder of the evening for dinner.

Afterwards, they headed to bed, Elisa's brain buzzing with activity.

_So Team Gangster wanted him to join them? Okay... I can understand not wanting to be with someone like Gliscor... but still... I get the feeling there's something more..._

Her mind wandered some more, thinking on the forest. She hadn't seen any signs of something that had left her there in her current state. Her mind continued onwards to the mountain beyond the forest.

_I really wonder what Alex and his partner will discover at that mountain._

She felt nervous, thinking about how they weren't there anymore to help them if they ran into trouble.

_Like he said though… I've got to stand up for myself…_

Feeling resigned, she called up what resolve she could and went to sleep, promising herself to work hard to improve the next day.


	10. Dungeon Delving

_**A bit of exploration and little more development of characters. Basically, a chapter with a little bit of fun in it.**_

_**Enjoy.**_

PMD: Life In Flames

Chapter 9: Dungeon Delving

Elisa woke up the next day to the guild Chimecho's ringing.

"Hey! A new day! Let's get up and **go**!" he said cheerily as they woke up.

He then hopped off while they were getting up.

The morning meeting went by in a bit of blur to Elisa and soon, she was before the job board with Rio. There was no sign of Team Long Ears.

_They really _are_ gone now on their own exploration…_ Elisa thought, somewhat glumly.

Rio was picking out jobs from Nut and Denwood Forest…

"Rio… um... how about we try somewhere different?" she suggested somewhat hesitantly.

Rio glanced at her, mildly surprised. He then acceded to the request with a shrug and smile, proceeding to search through the jobs for ones in a new location.

Elisa swallowed… she knew where that request had come from and she wasn't comfortable actually making it herself. But Alex had told her she needed to take a stand and facing her fears of the unknown she felt, was one way of doing that. Besides that, if she kept being afraid of everything she _didn't_ know, she might as well have gone back to bed and hid under the straw in cowardice.

As a result, she had spoken up and was now trying to keep her heartbeat even and fighting her nerves.

Rio finally picked out a few jobs from the board and opened up the Wonder Map, pointing out the new location.

"Okay… this one might be a bit hard for you but, how's Moss Cove sound to you?"

Elisa could tell from the name that they were likely dealing with somewhere wet. She knew the result of fire versus water (it was elementary after all). Her first impulse was to reject the idea but she kept a stiff upper-lip and nodded, feeling an uncomfortable knot forming in her gut. "Nervous" wouldn't even begin to describe her.

_Relax Elisa…_ she thought to herself, _You can deal with a little water. You liked showers as a human._

_Yeah._ Her pessimistic-side dead-panned, _When you were __human__. You know well enough a Vulpix isn't going to like water in the least._

She exhaled, steeling herself and Rio could clearly see how tense she was.

"Don't worry. I'm here to help."

"D-Don't think you need to handle everything though." She said trying to sound confident (and failing), speaking faster than necessary. She then marched for the exit ahead of Rio, absent-mindedly running into the wall instead. She shook her head, trying to get her mind back into gear as the other guild members stifled their amusement and she led Rio out to Moss Cove.

o0o

Moss Cove was directly to the west of the village. There was an inlet of water near the cave, a very small amount of the water trickling into the cave. The cove was aptly named as wherever there was some moisture, moss and lichen was growing on the rocks. Elisa could feel the damp air making her instinctively uncomfortable.

"Just take it easy Elisa." Rio said comfortingly, "Even Quil's explored here once or twice with a little help. It's not exactly a walk through Nut Forest for a fire-type but it's not like you're going to get absolutely drenched in there either."

Elisa breathed in and out again, calming her nerves, which were on the verge of bursting with tension.

"Alright… let's do this."

o0o

They went down a floor and met their first cave resident: a Lotad. The pokemon looked like a lilypad with a small blue body that had eight stubby legs underneath. Elisa took some comfort in the clear fact it was grass-type. However, given the manner of plant, it was also water-type, which meant that Elisa's fire wasn't super-effective. Nonetheless, she attempted to burn it and the grass/water-type retaliated by bumping into her. She felt an uncomfortable sensation of energy being sucked out of her body. Oddly, it didn't bother her that much, which was surprising to her. The Lotad even seemed disappointed.

"I'm not losing to a plant of all things." Elisa declared firmly and spat more fire at it, causing it to flee.

They continued on into Moss Cove, finding an item someone had wanted (one of their jobs) and put it away in their treasure bag.

They came across a Psyduck at one point, which indeed, looked like a yellow duck with hands rather than wings.

Rio attacked and the Psyduck seemed to experience a severe headache following the attack, as it gripped its own head and trembled as if in severe pain. Then it opened it eyes wide, gazing at Rio who yelped and staggered back.

"Whoa, what happened?" Elisa said, quickly checking Rio any injuries.

"Ugh…" Rio groaned, rubbing his head like the Psyduck had just passed its headache to him "Psyduck may be water-type, but they have some psychic attacks too so be careful… ow… that smarts…"

Elisa stepped up and shyly approached the duck-pokemon, wary for another psychic attack. She then leapt forward and smacked it with one paw. The attack seemed to trigger another headache. However, Elisa got an unwelcome surprise when rather than her mind coming under assault, the Psyduck suddenly spat a glob of water at her, hitting her with a loud, hissing splash.

Elisa screamed. It felt like someone had slammed her with a barrage of ice, the water was so **cold**. Not only that, but her body reacted to the soaking with vehement dislike and she immediately felt intense pain over all the parts of her body that were soaked. It was almost like an extreme allergy if not worse.

She immediately shook off the water as quickly possible. Any focus she might've had for a fire-breathing counter-attack was killed right then as the heat inside her was sapped of power and Elisa was already starting to shiver with cold.

Rio shook off the remainder of his headache from the psychic attack and shot forward, punching the duck with his paw. The Psyduck swayed and then fell over, one webbed foot sticking up in the air.

Elisa searched through their treasure bag and ate an oran berry they had packed. She was grateful that the berries were relatively plentiful and easy to find in most places. The berry restored her strength and she felt warmth spread through her again as her body quickly dried up any remaining moisture.

"Ugh… I do **not** want to get wet again." She said shivering again at the thought of the cold water hitting her.

"Like I said, it's not exactly a walk in through Nut Forest but I'm sure we can get through here together. Just stay with me." Rio said.

Elisa readily agreed and stuck close to Rio as they continued deeper.

They found someone who had mistakenly wandered into the cave and gotten lost. They sent the lost pokemon back.

_Still one more job left_.

They continued on down, running into other water-types such as a few Goldeen living in the pools along-side the path and some Barboach, both of which were fish-pokemon. Elisa backed away from either pokemon when they encountered them, unwilling to experience getting wet again. This left Rio to handle them alone which wasn't too much of a problem for him.

Then, at one point a Goldeen Rio was fighting, jumped from the water, hitting Rio squarely in the head with the horn upon its own head.

Rio yowled and stumbled back, falling on his rear, clutching at his head where he had been hit as his opponent bounced off and landed in the water again. The Goldeen was about ready to fire a stream of water at Rio, who wasn't in any condition to protect himself.

Elisa wanted to stop the fish from doing this but she didn't want to get in range of the attack either. Like anyone, she did not like experiencing pain so severe. She felt like she was in-conflict with herself as she couldn't get herself to move forward.

_Argh, no! I need to __**focus**__!_ She thought desperately and quickly tried to do just that with her thoughts. Her mind was sidetracked on concern for Rio though. She was worried he was about to be seriously hurt and it would be her fault for not standing up for herself.

To her surprise, she felt the flame sac in her body expand despite the distraction and furthermore, it expanded an even greater amount than normal. She didn't let her surprise keep her from acting though. She inhaled deep and looked up at the water-type, her resolve firm.

She then forcibly blew a large stream of fire at it, the pouch inside compressing completely. The fire blazed across the gap between them and the Goldeen (already weakened somewhat by the fight) was taken off-guard by the intense flames slamming it from the side. It was knocked into the air by the rather hard impact and fell back into the water, where it didn't resurface.

Rio had looked up to see this and looked back at Elisa afterwards, clearly stunned. She was astonished herself. The fire she had attacked with had been no small amount. She could've easily had incinerated a grass-type with an attack like that.

"When did you learn to use _that_ much fire, Elisa? That was… that was incredible." He said, blinking.

Elisa was just as stunned. She had actually acted partially out of instinct. Part of her mind had been reminding her just before she attacked that she needed to get closer or the flames wouldn't reach. Her instincts though had said otherwise and she had acted on them.

She tried focusing and the flame sac readied itself again but it was back to the size it had been on previous occasions. She blew some flames but they were small. No bigger than she was used to.

_How did I manage to do that? That was…was...it's just as Rio described it. It was incredible. I didn't know I could hold so much fire like that. How did I do that?_

"Well," Rio said, getting up "I think I owe you one. That last attack from that Goldeen kinda nailed me, it felt like getting pecked by a bird. I think you saved me from some further pain."

Elisa felt extra heat flood her face as she listened and she just smiled, appreciating his gratitude. Then she felt her extremities getting a little cold.

"Whew… I think I really took it out of myself with that." She breathed, relaxing for the first time in the cave and searched through their treasure bag again, this time looking for an apple to snack on. Rio thanked her again as she ate and then they moved on.

Elisa continued trying to bring out that greater fire on more opponents in the cave but the flame sac seemed to resist attempts to expand any further than usual. This was a source of aggravation to Elisa but Rio just took her bad mood in stride and tried to reassure her that she'd pull it off again soon.

They completed their last job, getting a different item someone else had wanted and headed back, getting out of Moss Cove. Elisa was grateful to be away from the water, but at the same time, she found (in hindsight) that she had actually enjoyed the adventure once she had set off on it.

_If I can just get myself out there and going, I think I might be able to handle exploring..._

She wasn't perfectly confident in this statement, but she felt it would be a good start. They headed back to the Guild and received their rewards for their work.

Elisa then decided, in the time they had before dinner to go find Quil and ask the village resident something that had been in the back of her mind all day.

o0o

"Quil, you know Rio, don't you? After all, you gave him the warning about Team Gangster."

"Yeah… was there something you wanted to ask about Rio?" he said, curious.

"I'm a little nervous about asking Rio personally… I don't want to make him uncomfortable. But is there some sort of connection between Rio and Team Gangster? He seems to know them rather well."

Quil frowned, and Elisa could tell he knew, however his expression gave his answer before he even said it.

"I don't think it's my place to share that kind of information, Elisa. I'm good friends with Rio myself and I know how much he dislikes that bunch. You'd really have to ask him yourself because I don't think I should be the one to tell you. I just don't. Sorry." Quil's sad look told her that he was truly sorry and then the Quilava turned and went back to his own business.

Elisa sighed, dissatisfied and she headed back to the guild. She didn't notice the night-black bird that flew off from the brush a short distance away.

o0o

After dinner, Rio noticed Elisa's puzzled expression.

"Something wrong, Elisa?" he asked, concerned.

She looked up at him, wondering if she should ask Rio himself about his connection.

However, her nerve failed her and she shook her head.

"No… it's nothing Rio. Don't worry. I'm just thinking about what to do tomorrow." She lied.

_All this lying is becoming a bit of a bad habit._ She noted in the back of her mind. However she dismissed this and settled down on her bed.

The question wouldn't stop nagging her mind though.

_Why does Rio know those three jerks so well?_


	11. Busting an Outlaw

_**Don't worry, I'll be continuing things along soon enough... just a bit more development.**_

_**Enjoy.**_

PMD: Life In Flames

Chapter 10: Busting an Outlaw

Elisa woke up the next morning before the Chimecho had come into the room to wake them up. Her night had been somewhat restless as the question she had gone to bed with had been buzzing in her mind the entire night and wouldn't leave.

_How did Rio know that team so well?_

The living alarm clock hopped in and was pleasantly surprised to see her up already.

"Well, it's great see you getting up by yourself now!" he said, as cheerful as ever. Elisa decided to just take the comment. No need to disappoint the little bell with the fact that she had merely had a bad night.

"What is your name anyways?" she said, wiping sleep from her eyes, "I keep meaning to ask, but I've never had the chance to do it, with all the work to be done."

"Pitch." He said with a little hop, "Cute, isn't it?" he giggled.

Elisa blinked away more sleep, giggling about the name as well.

"Pitch?" she said, confirming it, "As in the 'pitch' of a musical note?" she guessed.

"Yep. Parents thought I'd be a singer or something along those lines. Didn't imagine I was going to join the guild." He said with a silly grin.

The conversation woke up Rio, who sat up, drowsily yawning.

"Oh yeah, I'd better make sure everyone else is awake for morning meeting!" Pitch said, hopping in place and then running off, "It's nice to talk with you, Elisa!" he called back as he ran off to the other bedrooms.

Elisa couldn't get the amused grin off her face.

_I have to admit, being in this guild... it has its pleasures__._

o0o

Rio was surprised when, following morning meeting, Elisa immediately insisted on yet another new adventure.

"Hey, let's take it easy. One thing at time, okay?" Rio chuckled.

Elisa sighed when she couldn't get him to change his mind about going somewhere they had already gone before. So instead, she managed to get him to choose a harder job.

"How about we go bust an outlaw then? There's a job for one right there." Elisa said, pointing to one slip with the picture of a pokemon on it. Rio looked closer at the job and then glanced at Elisa uncertainly.

"You sure you want to try tackling an outlaw?" he said with a speculative look.

"Why not?" a Russian accent spoke behind them. They turned to see the Jinx that was always alongside the guildmaster during meetings approaching them. A Jinx looked very human though rather short (and impossible to confuse with an actual human) and was predominantly a shade of violet with some pink. She had no legs, but drifted across the ground as if she did (under that dress-like lower-body) and had very long, shiny, yellow hair trailing from her head.

The Jinx had a kind smile, a very rich voice, the accent was quite thick, and was eyeing Elisa like she was impressed.

"It's been a while since you attempted to capture an outlaw, Rio." She said, "You may have failed then but you were _alone_ then too. That is not the case now, so I believe you can do it with this determined little foxie." Jinx said, ending with a serene smile and an amused little chuckle.

Elisa didn't appreciate being called "little foxie" but she realized Jinx was complimenting her bravery so she opted to not complain about the name this once.

Rio sighed, a silly grin on his face as he conceded to the point. He pulled the note off the job board and looked at it closer again.

"Alright… let's see here… Denwood Forest… a Vileplume." He muttered, reading over the details of the job.

"Even better: type advantage." Jinx added, "She should be _most_ effective on _this_ outlaw."

Elisa was distracted at the moment, trying to figure out where a pokemon like Jinx got the Russian accent.

"I still think we might be getting in over our heads…" Rio said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Just go prepare yourselves well." The Jinx said reassuringly "I believe you can do it."

o0o

As they headed into the village, Elisa found she wasn't so much nervous about fighting an outlaw as excited to see if she could put up enough of a fight to take an opponent like that down. There was little doubt in her mind that this Vileplume would be tough but she'd seen the pokemon before and even if she hadn't, the picture made it pretty clear they were dealing with a grass-type as the pokemon in question looked like a massive flower. By the time they were leaving, Elisa had figured she wasn't scared, because if she could deal with some water-types like she had at Moss Cove, even a _tough_ grass-type should be no problem.

They shared the news with Quil in passing, who looked a little stunned at their daring and wished them luck as they headed out of the village again.

o0o

They headed to Denwood Forest again and made sure to look around carefully this time for anyone tailing them. Finding no one suspicious, Rio pulled out the job slip and read it over again, reviewing.

"Alright… apparently this Vileplume's been playing innocent with some pokemon before stealing their items. Our client had a Leaf stone swiped from them and the outlaw sent them off to dreamland with a sleep powder attack before escaping. They're sure they last saw the outlaw escaping into this forest and no one's seen a Vileplume come out."

"A Leaf Stone is used for evolution, right?" Elisa said, going over the information.

"Yeah, there's supposed to be a place pokemon can evolve around Veil Island but no one's willing to tell me. I suppose the client might know but I doubt we'll get them to tell either." Rio said, sounding a little envious.

"Oh well, I'm fine as I am anyhow. The only way I want to change right now, is back to human." Elisa said confidently.

Rio put away the job slip and stretched a bit, readying himself for the task ahead.

"You're probably going to be the key to taking this outlaw down, so I hope you're ready."

"Let's do it." She said and walked into the forest.

o0o

As might've been expected, not much had changed about Denwood. They were still encountering the occasional fire-type in the scorched portion of the forest and there were still plenty of birds, grass-types, and other pokemon wandering the maze of giant trees.

This gave Elisa plenty of time to reflect on various things when they weren't fending off unwelcoming residents.

Try as she might, she couldn't help continuing to ponder the possible existence of a much deeper connection between Rio and Team Gangster, and the more she dwelt on the topic, the more aggravated she became.

_How does he know them? Was he press-ganged in for a few weeks? No, that's not it. They only cornered him once and his dad apparently got him out of that mess with some help. But he'd have to have been around them for at least a few weeks to know details like how Mort's apparently a coward._

She was actually grateful when a confrontation with another forest resident distracted her from these spiraling thoughts. The questions were not finding answers, but yet more questions.

_Maybe he heard from his dad? But I wouldn't think he'd know anymore than Rio. Someone else told him? Then who would know?_

Her frustration eventually started showing through on her face and Rio noticed.

"You alright, Elisa? You look like something's bothering you."

Elisa was tempted right then to slam the question in Rio's face and demand an answer to her questions. However, she kept her mouth from blurting it out and held herself back.

"It's… it's nothing Rio…" she said shaking her head, "I'm just a little nervous since we're probably getting close to finding that outlaw." She lied, yet again. Guilt over this concealment started to fester, turning her aggravation to shame in herself. However, she kept those thoughts buried and Rio set a paw on her back, offering some comfort.

She glanced at Rio, the question still buzzing in her mind, but it seemed to die away slightly as she looked appreciatively at her partner.

_He really is affectionate and cares about me. I'm so sorry to be hiding this from him but… I don't know how he'll react… I don't want to damage our… our friendship._

About a week ago, she would've been shocked to hear herself considering this pokemon a friend, and one she wanted to maintain that relationship with. But now… she found a new happiness in having him around.

She stopped her thoughts before she started recalling old events… her compassion for the Riolu was reminding her of an old, human friend… and she didn't want to think about _that_.

_He's not like that… _we're_ not like that._ She convinced herself.

Elisa exhaled, as if bracing herself for the hard task ahead, and they proceeded deeper into the forest.

o0o

They did come across the Vileplume in an unburnt portion of forest, trying to hide his contraband in a grassy patch. The flower-pokemon whirled about as he heard them coming and looked quite surprised to see an exploration team. The Vileplume managed to look even more like a flower in-person. It had five massive, red petals with black spots and under those petals, on its dark purple "stem" was the Vileplume's innocent-looking face. A simple set of arms and legs were also visible.

"Alright Vileplume, we're here to reclaim stolen property." Rio said as they confronted the outlaw.

"What are you talking about?" the grass-type said, trying to sound innocent while standing guard over the patch of grass to keep them from investigating. Elisa's first immediate impression was a ditz. This flower wasn't the brightest light-bulb in the pack.

"No innocent acts. We know what you've been up to." Elisa countered.

Vileplume, already nervous from being caught red-handed, started to panic slightly as he realized he was facing a fire-type. He actually hadn't been hiding his stolen item, but checking on it. Bad timing on his part.

"J-just leave me alone, please." He said, almost begging.

Rio stepped forward.

"Just hand over what you've stolen and maybe we can handle this peacefully." Rio said.

"No!" the flower protested before suddenly exploding. A wave of purplish dust blossomed like a cloud from the top of his head. Elisa sucked in a quick breath of air and squinted to avoid being blinded by the dust. Rio, who was closer, yelped and hopped back, trying to avoid inhaling the dust as well.

The Riolu blinked a bit but remained awake. Elisa wasn't affected as she succeeded in not inhaling the dust and focused, readying her counter-attack.  
>The Vileplume yelled in alarm when Elisa came at him, spitting small flames.<p>

"_Fire_! I hate fire!" he yelled and spat a purple fluid at her.

It wasn't water but it still burned when it hit.

Elisa tried to shake off the fluid, but it wouldn't come off. However, it stopped burning after a bit, apparently wearing off.

"I'm not about to let a bit of acid intimidate me!" Rio declared, trying to sound brave and charged at the grass-type, punching it in the face.

The grass-type counter-attacked, punching Rio back. Rio grunted as something was visibly sucked from him and pulled into the Vileplume's body, the grass-type perking up again immediately. Rio staggered back, looking pale and weak.

_That's the same kind of move that Lotad in Moss Cove used on me. Only it's stronger in this case._

Elisa stepped defensively in front of Rio and faced the outlaw again. The Vileplume bowed its head, and fired a ball of green-yellow dust at Elisa. Elisa again, quickly held her breath as the dust burst over her head. She couldn't hold it long enough this time though and gasped slightly for air before the air was clear.

She coughed and a moment later, started feeling sick.

_Poison! Ooog... not good..._

She withstood the poison though and willed herself to stand firm.

_Rio's protected me from a lot of dangers up to this point. It's time I pay my dues to him by showing how I've improved._

She inhaled (resisting the illness urging her to retch), readying herself to attack. The flame sac expanded, reaching that remarkable size again.

Elisa then unleashed a blast of fire that caused the Vileplume to scream as it was hit by the fire attack.

As the flower panicked over getting burnt, Elisa felt her stomach turn and her knees buckled slightly with weakness. The fight up to this point had already taken a good deal of her energy and the poison was sapping what was left of that strength.

Then Rio set a paw on her side and held out a pink, peach-shaped berry to her.

"Nice work. You brought out the bigger flames again." Rio said sounding tired, "Here… I know you've been poisoned, this should help."

Elisa ate the berry (which tasted sweet, like candy) and after a moment, her stomach settled, the poison neutralized.

"No! No! No! **No!**" the Vileplume cried, sounding scared as he desperately patted out an ember burning at one his petals, "Fire's bad! _Very bad_! Stop it!" and he whirled, sending a flurry of small petals flying into the air.

The petals whirled through the air sharply and a wall of petal-filled wind slammed Elisa. The petals crisped as they hit her fur however the attack was still incredibly powerful and the blow was staggering. Amazingly enough, Elisa managed to call up the strength to stay standing. The Vileplume continued to spin about, yelling about fire being bad and causing more petals to fill the air.

"Look out!" Elisa yelped and dove aside as another wave of petals came flying at them. Rio jumped back to avoid the assault and the Vileplume's spinning slowed to a stagger, his eyes rolling about. The outlaw was clearly in a state of confusion now as he continued to blather disjointed sentences.

"That's enough!" Elisa yelled and exhaled another large blast of fire at the flower-pokemon. The flames knocked the Vileplume over and it remained down. Elisa nearly collapsed then, exhausted from fighting and taking hits.

Rio produced an oran berry from their treasure bag and offered it to her.

"So… how'd I do?" Elisa panted as she accepted the berry.

"I'd say you're a good explorer now…" Rio said with a slight chuckle, "Especially if you can take down an outlaw."

"Ah… good…" she sighed and sat down (somewhat hard) on the ground before eating the berry.

"I really think we're a good team Elisa. You know when to let me handle an enemy and you've stepped up when the fight's been too much for me. I'm glad to have you for a partner." He said, pulling out another oran berry and eating it himself.

"Rio… I…" Elisa started but she paused and thought over what she was doing.

_I can't…_

"Yes?" Rio said, curious to hear what she had to say.

"I… I'm glad too. Glad to be your partner." She said, at least being honest this time.

o0o

It turned out that their client was a Geodude, much to Elisa's confusion.

_Don't **grass**-types use the stones to evolve? I thought the client would be a grass-type themselves._

"I like collecting rare stones of all sorts," The Geodude explained, "especially evolution stones. They make nice snacks and these Leaf ones are good for the diet," the rock said.

_Man, am I glad I'm not a rock-type…_ Elisa thought privately, completely (and justifiably) uninterested in the diet of a Geodude.

Once he was done talking about his diet, the rock-type gave them the promised reward for getting his stone back and headed on his way. They had also received a monetary reward from the local constable (effectively the village's police officer) for capturing Vileplume and bringing him in for arrest.

With the job complete, Elisa's mind was back to the question waking her up early.

_Ugh… not again… I really need to ask someone… someone who might know something besides Rio…_

Her eyes fell on the Jinx, who was talking to the Guildmaster about something.

_Come to think of it… maybe she knows something… the Guildmaster was there to stop Rio from being pressed-ganged into Team Gangster. Jinx was probably there to intimidate those three._

"Hey Rio, I want to just chat with Jinx over there really quick." Elisa said quickly "I want to tell her the good news and all that. I'll be right back, okay?"

Rio took a moment to understand but nodded before Croc came over to congratulate him on the outlaw-job.

Elisa approached Jinx who was just finishing her conversation.

"Hey Jinx." She said put up a cheerful attitude, "Did you hear about how our job went?"

"I did." She said with a pleased smile "My congratulations for a job well-done. The Guildmaster and myself will be expecting just as excellent work tomorrow."

"Actually, I wanted to also ask you something." Elisa said, getting to her point quickly. Jinx looked directly at her, giving her her full attention.

"I've heard about how the Guildmaster stopped Team Gangster from forcing Rio into their team. Were you there when that happened?"

The guild lieutenant nodded.

"Yes… I was there. The Guildmaster knew for a team like that, I would be invaluable and I was happy to assist. Why do you ask?"

"Do you have any idea why Rio knows Team Gangster so well? I mean he never actually joined them, right? So how does he know about them so well?"

Jinx considered the question for several moments… then she nodded slowly.

"I do know their history… however, that is a deeply personal question you ask. I will tell you this much though: it has to do with Kale."

"Kale?" Elisa echoed "Who's that?"

"Rio has not told you his father's name?" Jinx said, giving her a mildly puzzled look.

"His dad's name is Kale?" Elisa blinked. She hadn't expected a name like that for a pokemon.

"Yes. However, I believe if you truly wish to know, you should ask Rio yourself. It is not my place to share information of this nature."  
>Elisa groaned as she had just received the same answer Quil had given her: ask Rio.<p>

"But… But…" she said slowly, unwillingly "I'm… afraid of how he'll react." She finally admitted to Jinx.

Jinx gave her a very understanding smile. When she spoke next, her accent was diminished, making her easier to understand.

"Asking about such matters _is_ a sensitive and risky act… however, I think he will understand if the question is from you. Just have the same courage you demonstrated to me this morning." She said gently, but encouragingly and patted the shy Vulpix on the shoulder.

Elisa breathed in and then out, preparing herself. She thanked Jinx for her help.

"Please, my friends call me Jiji." She said sweetly.

"Jiji?" Elisa said, a little confused.

"A little pet name I invented for myself. I like it and the Guildmaster uses it in private all the time." She finished with a gentle laugh, "I like a cute name, believe it or not."

Elisa couldn't help laughing a little herself. It _was_ an interesting name.

She thanked Jinx again, calling her by her "cute" name and heading back to Rio.

o0o

Though she tried to get up the courage, Elisa found she couldn't get over her concerns about a negative reaction from Rio over digging into his personal matters.

Dinner went by and they were going to bed and Elisa still found she couldn't get up the nerve to ask.

She made eye contact with Rio, who started to bid her a good night and she willed herself to ask right then… but her resolve was weak and faltered.

"I… good night Rio…" she said, feeling embarrassed that she could face an outlaw without a problem but couldn't ask her own partner a simple question.

Rio didn't notice her expression and settled down to sleep.

Elisa sighed and settled down, mentally bracing herself for a rough, sleepless night.

_Why am I so concerned about it anyways? It's not really my business..._

But for reasons she couldn't fathom, the question would not leave her mind.


	12. An Explosion

_**Alright, here's a chapter with a few surprises. I realize there will be some questions by the end but don't worry, it's part of the plot.**_

_**I changed one or two things from how they were originally.**_

_**This chapter's pretty somber by the end and things are going to take a somewhat tragic turn in these next couple of chapters. Basically the "hurt" half of the Hurt/Comfort genre. And boy, am I trying for hurt.**_

_**Please review and enjoy. As always, I welcome the opportunity to improve.**_

PMD: Life in Flames

Chapter 11: An Explosion

Elisa woke up in the middle of the night. It was still dark outside.

_Great… Can't I get _any_ sleep?_

She attempted to get back to sleep but the question was still rolling over and over in her head.

_Okay, so it has to do with Kale? How is he involved with Rio's knowledge of Team Gangster? Did he tell Rio about them? If that's the case, how did he get the knowledge?_

The question was more about Rio's dad than Rio himself now. She wasn't sure why she was so concerned about the matter but it would not be ignored.

She considered waking up Rio to ask him as she tossed and turned, unable to get to sleep. She finally just sat up and looked at her snoring partner.

_I should just come out and say it…_

She told herself this, but when she inhaled to speak and try to wake up Rio… she just found she couldn't.

_Even if he wouldn't be upset about the question, he'd still be moody over being woken up in the middle of the night like this._

She quietly groaned to herself, feeling miserable and wondering if she would _ever_ get up the courage to ask.

Then she decided to contemplate _how_ to ask the question instead, resolving to ask Rio first thing in the morning.

After only a minute though, she found this hard to do over the sound of Rio's snoring. She got up and walked out of the bedroom. She wandered into the meeting area. She considered just taking a seat near a wall somewhere in the room but she noticed the Guildmaster's chamber door was slightly ajar and there was light coming from the room.

_I don't want to get in trouble if Roserade happens to leave her chambers and sees me._

There wasn't anywhere around the meeting area that wouldn't be in plain sight if someone stepped out of the Guildmaster's chamber and just looked around.

She approached the sentry-post ladder, considering sneaking up there for a bit more privacy but quickly found that to not be an ideal option. She could hear snoring coming from above when she got close to the ladder.

_Wow… Sentret must really love his job if he even **sleeps** up there._

She had no idea how Sentret would react if she woke him up intruding on him and didn't want to risk him reporting her to the Guildmaster or anything like that. So she looked around for more options.

The infirmary door was normally open unless someone was resting in there from wounds. The entire room was visible from outside so she couldn't hide in there and closing the door would just look suspicious when it was normally left open while the room wasn't in use.

The only option left… was outside the guild.

This option made her a bit uneasy. For one thing, she needed to open the gate without waking Sentret (or anyone else) up. She was also unsure about where to go for privacy but then she remembered the clearing where Alex had had his discussion with her. The only other concern was someone finding her and explaining herself if that _did_ happen.

She went up the ladder to the gate (which was somewhat like a wooden portcullis) and looked around. Nothing there to open the gate with… except a large, angled stick just lying in a corner of the tent-like covering. It had the rough angle of a boomerang. She looked between the stick and the gate considering the obvious tactic: prying the gate up a bit so she could sneak under it. The alternative was sneaking into the sentry post where the lever for opening the gate apparently was. She had never seen it for herself, having never been up there before but Sentret could open the gate so there had to be something that opened the gate in the sentry post.

She wasn't confident in her strength so rather than trying to pry the gate up with the stick, she quietly made her way back to the sentry post. She silently climbed the ladder and came into the sentry post. She saw Sentret almost immediately. He was laid back, against the wall, a peaceful smile on his face as he continued to snore. There was an opening in the cloth-wall over his head. She figured he peered down at whoever was outside from that hole. It wasn't that far up over his head so his tail would easily give him the extra height needed to see out.

Looking around, she saw a large, wooden lever built into a wood panel. It stuck out on the wall that was otherwise made of tent-like cloth. The lever was positioned such that unless she came at it from an elevated postion (such as jumping at it), Elisa wouldn't be able to reach it. Only either a fairly tall pokemon or Sentret, positioned on his tail, would be able to reach it with ease. She backed up a bit, hoping she could make the jump and not miss the leap. She ran forward, making as little noise as possible and jumped. She landed on the lever and hung on it, her entire body one or two feet off the ground. She slid towards the joint of the lever while it started to sink downwards under her weight.

She tried to take this slowly to avoid too much noise. The lever finally hit the "down" position with a low _clunk_. She quickly looked up at Sentret, afraid the noise had just woken him up. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the sentry still sawing logs against the wall.  
>Meanwhile, the gate was starting to open, slowly. She could hear ropes straining and rubbing against other objects behind the walls, and the gate below, rising. Elisa was frozen near the lever, unspeakably tense and ready for the worst should Sentret be awoken by the noise.<p>

However, luck seemed to be with Elisa for once. Sentret was apparently one heavy sleeper as he stirred slightly throughout those tense seconds, but he never showed any actual signs of waking up.

Once the gate was open, Elisa padded back to the ladder (grateful for her paws, which made much less noise than human feet would have) and climbed down, wary for anyone else she might've woken up. The Guildmaster's chamber door was still in the same position it had been in originally, undisturbed and she made her way back to the entrance.

Once outside, she looked back and around for anyone spying on her. She thought she noticed someone back in the guild but looking closer, saw nothing. Figuring it was just the darkness and her nerves, she shrugged this off. There was no one else around that she could see. Perking her ears up and listening closely, she could just faintly make out the sound of Sentret still sawing away up in the sentry post.

_Good, I'll just close the gate when I come back and, with a little luck, no one will be the wiser._

o0o

She found the clearing and sat down to think over her question for Rio. After a bit, she started practicing her fire-breathing too. She found the gentle light calming and it helped her to think too. She found, once again, her flames were small and she was still puzzled about how she was bringing out that powerful flame without really meaning to.

Her mind was just switching gears to think about how she brought out that fire previously, when she got a most unwelcome surprise.

"Well, well, well. Escape from the guild did we? Unhappy with your team now?"

Elisa quickly got up and turned around to face Team Gangster landing (or at any rate, coming down to ground level) behind her. She quickly realized that she had been giving away her location with her flames. The light had attracted their attention.

"I just wanted a bit of privacy to think." She said tensely, "I'm perfectly happy with Rio as a partner. I am _not_ joining your team."

Honchkrow (who was the one speaking) simpered and shrugged.

"That's a disappointment... would make this so much easier on both of us. Because this time, I'm not asking. You're joining my team even if we have to drag you kicking and screaming. And there will be no daring rescue from that Raichu or his partner this time. I am sure now that they are quite gone on their little trip."

_Right… I can't rely on Alex and his partner all the time anyways…_

Her mind still had the question that had kept her up this night, buzzing just faintly in the back. It amazed her that it was sticking in her head even now.

_Well, the gangsters themselves should know. Why not ask them?_

Without really thinking about it, she acted on the idea.

"Rio seems to know you three rather well. How does he know so much about you?"

Honchkrow was actually unsurprised by the question.

"Mort mentioned you had been asking one or two pokemon concerning that matter." The raven said, a note of amusement in his voice, "You really wish to know?"

"Yeah… it's been keeping me up all night." She answered, her irritation with this fact edging into her tone.

"I would imagine Rio's father, Kale, told him about us after he left our team. Wanted to make sure his son knew about how… despicable we are." He said, ending somewhat derisively.

Elisa took in the information, and blinked when she realized the implications.

"You managed to force his dad to join you?" she said in some disbelief.

"Actually, no. You may find this hard to believe… but Kale originally joined my team of his own free will."

_Okay, that has** got** to be a lie._

"I assure you, little Vulpix, it is the truth." Honchkrow added calmly, and Elisa could even see in his eyes that he wasn't trying to trick her… he was being as honest as he claimed he was.

"Why would someone like that… join you three?" Elisa said, confused now.

"Why indeed. Even I'm not sure but that's beside that point anyhow. We're here to claim you for our team and _that_ is the final word." Honchkrow said getting back to the purpose of their encounter, eyeing her now like an eagle targeting a rabbit.

"I can't be on two exploration teams, you know." Elisa said, trying to stall him while she considered a plan of escape.

"Oh, that won't be a concern," Honchkrow chuckled, "Rio's been looking for his father. He has told you that, yes?"

"What about his search?" Elisa said, remembering when she had asked Rio about why he had joined the guild.

"Father and son… a classic pair for exploration, wouldn't you think? The moment Rio's found his-old-pokemon, he'll dismiss you for sure. Wouldn't want you to get hurt when you fall behind." The bird continued on blithely.

This… struck a nerve in Elisa's mind. A nerve she thought she had buried deep, long ago. She hadn't thought it would be unearthed like this.

"Ex_cuse_ me?" She said, and her body flushed with a sudden wave of heat.

"Kale was a skilled explorer. I can say that from first-hand experience. It was only because of that skill that we couldn't stop him from leaving our team." Honchkrow explained, "When he's been reunited with Rio, they'll want to go exploring together. A novice like you? You'd fall behind and I'm sure even Rio will realize that. So he'll let you go so you don't get hurt trying to keep up."

"Rio… wouldn't…_do that_…" Elisa said slowly. Tensely. She sat down without noticing, her head bowing as she started struggling with her mind. All thought about escape had been forgotten. Her heart was suddenly pounding as if she were terrified though there wasn't the slightest sign of fear on her face.

"Are you sure?" Honchkrow said, stifling a snigger, "No one around here knows you. Not really. Not even your 'dear' partner."

"No…_Rio… wouldn't do that_…" Elisa repeated, she was starting to tremble and she was breathing slightly harder… a bubble of heat formed around her, causing any plant-life around her to begin withering. The night air around her was shimmering with heat.

_He wouldn't… **He wouldn't**… would he?_ That tiny irrational doubt in her mind was the one thing that kept her from casting off the emotions building up in her chest.

"He wouldn't, you say?" Honchkrow said teasingly. His tactic was to break Elisa's trust in her partner and her spirit. He was doing something far worse though… without realizing it.

"Who are _you_… to the one who raised him?" he laughed gently.

Elisa snapped. She jumped to her feet and glared up at the bird attacking her with words.

"**NO! Rio wouldn't! Not to me!**" she yelled with a sudden fury that startled Honchkrow. Gliscor automatically swooped forward to defend his leader and silence her argument.

Elisa yelled and fired a frighteningly large burst of flames at Gliscor. He cried out in surprise and barely maneuvered to avoid being engulfed in fire, but the proximity still resulted in him getting somewhat scorched.

A corner of Elisa's mind was vaguely aware of an intense energy blazing around her that was much more than mere heat. However, the rest of her mind was consumed in an unnatural rage, throwing it into nothing but chaos.

Honchkrow and Gliscor, alarmed by this reaction, both started forward to subdue Elisa before she could attack again. They weren't fast enough.

Elisa screamed right then, as they were about to knock her to the ground. It wasn't a scream of fear or anger. It was deepest pain… deeper than any physical wound. However, the outcry couldn't be heard over the explosion that accompanied it. A wave of sheer heat and fire swiftly expanded outwards from the Vulpix like a bomb and both members of Team Gangster didn't have time to scream themselves before the flames and heat engulfed them.

When the fire cleared, Elisa was standing in the center of a blackened circle of ground, panting hard.

Gliscor and his leader were on their backs, heavily burnt and smoking. They had been blown back by the explosion and their injuries were mostly from being caught completely off-guard. Honchkrow's feathers were crisped and looked as ragged as Mort's now. Mort meanwhile was gaping in terror at what had just happened.

"Rio… Rio wouldn't do that... to me. _Never_…" Elisa panted, her voice shaking. Tears were forming in her eyes. Even as she said it, Elisa sounded as if she were trying to convince _herself_ of this statement's truth.

"**He wouldn't do that me! So don't even **_**suggest**_** it!"** she yelled, "**Don't even **_**try**_** or… or I'll turn the lot of you into ****_charcoal_!**"

Her choice of words were pathetic, but Mort wasn't about to doubt them given what he'd seen and quickly attempted to get his boss on his feet and drag him away. Gliscor crawled after him.

Elisa was left alone in the clearing. She had her eyes squeezed shut, trying to calm herself. She was failing as tears fell to the ground. They were warm but still stung her cheeks slightly as they came, her skin reacting to the moisture.

_He wouldn't do that me… I wouldn't let him… I **can't** let him. Not like last time… I can't-I **can't** let it happen again… not again…_

Her tears burst free, she fell down and sobbed, her mind torturing her with her past.

Without noticing, she fell asleep, a chill sweeping both her heart and her body as images of her past sent her into a nightmare.


	13. Flashback: Memories of Pain

_**As the pre-text of this chapter indicates, this is a flashback, meaning I've gone back in time here. Most of it is going to be to Elisa's memory. Some of it though is going to show how this whole turn of events started (stuff that Elisa doesn't know).**_

_**If you've played the main game series, I address the deeper portions that aren't really addressed in those games. For example: what if you lose to a wild pokemon? What about those back home if you didn't simply "white-out" and end up at a Pokemon center with money gone?**_

_**Enjoy.**_

PMD: Life in Flames

Flashback

Chapter 12: A Memory of Pain

Elisa felt like the luckiest teenager in the region.

The public school she was going to had boys of all sorts. She tended to shy away from all of them, but had no problem with fellow girls. She was timid, what could she say? When any boy attempted to talk to her, she usually felt like anything she said in response would sound silly and/or trivial. As a result, she just ran away while making excuses, losing them in a crowd.

But Rick had been persistent. He was one of those guys at least half of the other girls in the school wanted for themselves. Despite this attention, he was humble. He was not an over-pumped jock or some insufferable nerd. His school grades were satisfactory for the teachers and he was decently athletic (though he wasn't joining the Olympics in the foreseeable future). He had hair a shade of orange and his face wasn't perfect, but it was enough to get the interest of all but the pickiest of girls.

Like the other "hot" boys, Elisa saw him as too good for her and shied away when he approached her. He managed to chase her down though one day and started talking with her, wanting to get to know her. The timid redhead was reluctant to speak but Rick further expressed his curiosity about her and this stunned Elisa.

Elisa thought herself to be unremarkable. Surely, there were girls _far_ more interesting than she was.

However, Rick wouldn't be deterred.

When she finally got up the nerve to speak (under his urging), he happily listened and easily opened up about himself as well, relating to her and commenting on her crimson hair. He told her how her hair had always gotten his curiosity whenever he saw it and he wanted to ask about how she kept it so beautiful for the past week. For the first time in her memory, Elisa opened up to a boy around her age. It felt like a rough start to her but it was an amazing feeling. She could hardly believe that _any_ boy paid so much attention to her.

It only took a few days and they were walking the school together. Of course, the rumors spread like wildfire in grassland. Elisa was suddenly a target of jealousy by other girls (her friends cheered her on) and boys suddenly seemed to pay more attention to her features as well, paying her compliments she had never hung around to hear. Of course, they were hoping to attract her away from Rick but she found herself attached to him, unwilling to give herself to anyone else.

By the end of the second week since their meeting, everyone around the school was sure they were going out.

Elisa could hardly believe it: she had a boyfriend. Her parents were wary at first of course but more weeks went by and Rick got to know them and them, him. Elisa also went to Rick's house and got to know his parents as well. They were happy to meet her and proud of their son.

Perhaps what Elisa liked best about him, was that he was sincere. She could tell when Rick said something, he meant it, and he complimented her appearance all the time. He believed her to be quite beautiful… all without really trying.

She couldn't have been happier in all her life.

o0o

A year into their relationship, Rick started expressing an interest in pokemon. He had been studying them on-the-side with his schoolwork and he was curious about them. This did not get in the way of their deep friendship though.

Elisa herself liked pokemon about as much as the next person at the time. At best, she was intrigued by their unique abilities and amused by the cute appearances of some; at worst, she was uninterested in them. Nonetheless, she was kind and when she was introduced to someone's pet, she played with the pokemon a little (if it wanted to play).

Partway into the year, Rick asked Elisa about an idea that had come to mind: becoming a trainer.

Elisa readily supported him in his ambition. She was aware it meant he would be away, traveling the world but she had faith he would be alright wherever he went.

It took another few months but arrangements were made with the pokemon professor to the south of Jubilife and Rick went down to Sandgem Town for a visit to the lab.

When he returned, he had a Turtwig in a pokeball. The little turtle was friendly and docile, though it had a habit of biting, which was apparently its way of showing affection. Its bites were gentle enough that Rick had no problem with it and Elisa managed to get it to show its affection in other ways that hurt less.

At the beginning of the next year, Rick started off on his adventure, promising Elisa he'd return someday with an awesome team of pokemon and a place in the trainer Hall of Fame.

A week later, Elisa received her first piece of mail from her traveling boyfriend.

She was thrilled as she read about his endeavors into various locations and battles with fellow trainers. He also filled her in on how he enjoyed his time raising the various pokemon he caught. She received the occasional picture of Rick with one pokemon or another, or even a gym leader once or twice.

Elisa found herself almost wishing she could've gone with him to watch in-person.

She was overjoyed when he returned one day with a well-grown team of pokemon. He was only passing through town though on his way to the sea-town to the west and did not spend much time in Jubilife. He did reassure Elisa that the next time he returned from the outside world, would be after he had beat the Elite Four. Then he would be home to stay.

o0o

About three months since the start of his adventure, Rick's letters stopped arriving. One or two more had arrived after his trip through town, but after that... nothing. It worried Elisa at first but she was sure he was just too busy to send the usual letter and one would arrive at a later date. He might've just forgotten to do it after his recent visit. More weeks passed though and nothing showed up. Elisa visited Rick's parents, asking about if he had sent word to them lately.

His parents were just as worried as Elisa was. They had also been receiving letters continually but they had stopped receiving them as well at about the same time.

Elisa reviewed the letters… one of the last ones he had sent was saying how he was headed for a city far to the north, going for the seventh gym badge waiting there. A dangerous climb had awaited according to him.

Another three months passed… Elisa lost hope of receiving word and her friends attempted to comfort her, which she took in and tried to live off of. She didn't want to release her hope that Rick was simply… occupied somewhere and would send word as soon as he was able.

Yet another three months later… a full nine months since his initial departure, Elisa despaired. Her friends found their comforts were failing to have any effect anymore and the long-gone trainer seemed to have disappeared off the face of the planet. They tried to help Elisa move on, find someone else to have a relationship with… but she did not want to forget Rick. He had been the first boy she had opened up to… the one she felt she could share everything about herself with. The only one she could ever trust. Her deep compassion for him had turned on her and was now keeping her from moving on with her life. Her parents tried as well to help her move on but their efforts were in vain.

By the end of that year, Elisa's mind could take no more.

She needed someone or something to blame.

It was irrational… no one was to blame for a trainer getting lost out in the wilderness, save the trainer and she wasn't about to lay blame on him for that. He could eventually find his way if he was lost but to vanish like this, something had to have taken him from the world. Her loss plagued her mind and she only saw comfort would come from blaming someone or something for the turn her life had taken.

In the end, Elisa found only two targets for her judgement.

The first… was pokemon in general. She was convinced they had lured Rick to his death. Sure, they hadn't wished him harm, but they had still been one of the main reasons he had set off on his journey. Animals that had, in the end, brought Elisa nothing but grief and taken the most important thing to her out into the world to his evident death.

The other possible target for blame… was herself.

Elisa couldn't stand it. She had supported Rick in the venture. She had let him leave her and get himself killed out there in the unknown. She had _let him go_.

Elisa _could not_ accept blame upon herself. She felt any and all sense of self-worth would be destroyed in the act. It was to be the reason she was aggravated all the time in the future: She _hated_ herself.

She hated that she had let him leave her. The hate would tear her apart, she was sure. If she accepted blame upon herself, she would not live any longer. She _could not_ live any longer while blaming herself for her stupid mistake.

Thus, in self-preservation, she blamed pokemon in general. Angry she may have been, but Elisa was not violent. Therefore, rather than making some madman's vow to kill them, she instead resolved to have as little to do with them as possible. She resolved to ignore them under all possible circumstances, minimal interaction. What few interactions she would make, would be to drive them away from her. She would not allow them to ruin her life any further.

Through this, she felt she had locked away her pain. But she also threw away the key. She ceased to interact with other boys. She did not react to their attempts to be friends with her. She did not wish to risk reliving her old pain. If one boy was enticed by pokemon, then another would be too sooner or later and, unless she avoided becoming attached to the boy in question, she would be subject to her pain once more. She never forgot Rick… not even for an instant.

She could not accept a painful separation happening again.

o0o

Three more years passed. Elisa became distant. She still visited with her fellow girls and chatted. But they noticed over all that time, Elisa never truly smiled. Any attempt by her to do so was forced… artificial. Her pain was not actually gone… merely numbed. However, this made no difference to her. As long as she could not feel it.

Her parents had attempted to discuss taking her to a psychiatrist. Elisa had immediately and vehemently refused. She had never before reacted so violently to anything her parents had done. Her father punished her when she was finished yelling and she took the punishment without any further word. They could not take her in for treatment though.

Her parents backed off from her, allowing her to continue as she was, but they would not give up.

Professor Rowan of Sandgem Town had been long-gone on a trip all those years and he returned to hear the sad news of Rick's disappearance.

He paid a visit to Rick's parents, sharing his condolences with them, and hearing about the recent issues they had experienced, he visited Elisa's parents as well while Elisa was at school. They explained how their daughter had been acting. They noted how she rejected pokemon and acted as if they weren't there whenever possible. Other matters around the apartment were of less concern to them than their daughter and her behavior. The fire-system was on the fritz lately according to the land-lord, they had a smoke-detector though so they were confident a fire wouldn't be a great concern. No, their daughter was first and foremost on their minds.

Rowan was saddened by the news of Elisa's hateful rejection. He had always found pokemon intriguing and saw this girl's rejection of them as a great shame. Then he had an idea. He had recently received a Riolu from an old friend of his that had been a great assistant to his research. He knew the act was risky but he did not wish anyone to live out their life hating pokemon as Elisa was doing. Besides that, it did not appear Elisa would kill the creature. The most he was concerned about was possible abuse and he hoped her parents would stop any sign of that occurrence.

He suggested to the two parents, trying to bring a pokemon into Elisa's life and explained how he had one still on-hand at his lab. Given that she was ignoring pokemon, not actively harming them, he thought adopting one might prove to be a therapeutic experience for her and help her to recover. He suggested only a month at most to see how she reacted. If it worked, she could keep the Riolu if she so wished.

Unfortunately, the idea did _not _work…


	14. Missing

**_I'm mostly putting in a new situation here. I hope this is at least good._**

**_Also, I inserted part of what was going to be in the next chapter._**

PMD: Life in Flames

Chapter 13: Missing

Elisa woke up from her dream of her nightmarish past to the cloying stench of smoke and the scent of burning wood. She could also hear the fire burning, which reminded her of when she first woke up as a Vulpix, though it sounded like a campfire rather than an uncontrolled blaze unlike in Denwood. The crackling was almost directly in her ears. Oddly, although she could smell little but smoke, she wasn't choking on the fumes. The air was somehow being filtered as she breathed.

The air was indescribably hot but it felt nice as she breathed it in, and she felt very much at home in the intense heat.

She blinked awake and the first thing she saw was the flames surrounding her. She sat up quickly in mild surprise (she hadn't expected to be **in** the middle of the blaze), and the woodpile she was lying on shifted under her. She froze the moment she found a position that didn't threaten to have her fall off with a lot of burning wood and ash.

"Whoa, take it easy Elisa."

It was Sentret, who was apparently tending to the campfire she was sitting on. He had a stick of wood in one hand.

Had she been anything but a fire-type pokemon, Elisa would've been cremated long-since.

"W-what's going on here?" she said, trying to gather her thoughts.

"You've been out like a light…" the sentry explained and looked thoughtful, "I'd say… about… 18 hours, give or take?"

"Did you… find me and do this?" Elisa asked, a little nervous now since the previous night was coming back to her. Looking up at the sky, the sun was to the west, going down. Sentret was right, she had been asleep almost the entire day.

"No, Rio came and got the guildmaster last night. He said he followed you when you… when it looked like you were trying to sneak out of the guild. I guess I need to try and be a bit more alert if you managed to open the gate without waking me up."

Elisa's heart sped up with worry as she realized the guild as a whole undoubtly knew now.

"The guildmaster looked you over and well, we couldn't feed you while you were out but we couldn't let you just extinguish like that so this is the only other thing to do to keep your fire going until you woke up."

Elisa looked down at the fire she was sitting in again, taking in what had been put together apparently to keep her alive. The wood was arranged in a circular tee-pee formation with small logs in the center to hold her up. It was the kind of wood-fire one would set-up for burning anything fairly large on top of the fire (somewhat like a cremation fire in medieval times). The fire felt nice and the tongues of flame somewhat tickled on her belly. She felt stronger than ever sitting in the scorching heat. It had evidently been burning for while as much of the wood was pitch-black or ash-gray and it threatened to crack and collapse if she shifted too much. It was all set-up a short distance from the guild.

"What… did Rio see?" Elisa asked slowly, afraid of what she was going to hear.

"He said he found out you weren't actually running away… apparently you were just practicing or something. Guildmaster seemed a bit relieved from that news, though still upset. Is that really what you were doing?"

"Er… yeah, I was. Really." She said, unwilling to mention what else she had been doing. Sentret looked curious but continued his explanation,

"Rio didn't really say much else except that Team Gangster came and attacked you. The guildmaster deduced what happened in the fight from looking at the clearing you were zonked out at. Seriously, if you just wanted to practice or something, couldn't it have waited until morning?" he said, "You woke up everyone with what you apparently did to fend off Team Gangster. If Rio hadn't come, we would've been wondering all night what that loud explosion we all heard was."

"Is Rio alright?" Elisa said, mentally relieved that he apparently hadn't said _too_ much.

"I'm not really sure. He didn't seem to be hurt from what I saw." Sentret answered, scratching his head, "He didn't _look_ happy though… even after we found you weren't really hurt either."

"So I was put in this fire… to keep me alive?" Elisa said, glancing down at the wood-fire again.

"Well, I don't know if you would've actually _died_… but I don't think you would've been in a fit state ever again if your fire petered out. You ever met a Charmander who's tail-fire has gone out? So we had to keep you hot to make sure it was still burning and all that until you could eat. Which reminds me," Sentret said and pointed to a small pile of apples off to the side, away from the fire, "As soon as you leave that fire, you'd best eat a few. I'll bet the strength you're feeling in there will vanish within minutes unless you eat up."

Elisa carefully stepped down, out of the wood-fire and ate a couple of the apples. The heat she had been feeling in the fire quickly faded as she left. A healthy amount of the heat returned after she had swallowed a couple of apples. She ate one more for good measure and took a moment to take in her new situation.

"Anyhow, I don't know all the details, but Guildmaster Roserade _definitely_ wants a word with you." Sentret said, giving a look that telegraphed one message: she was in trouble and he was glad not to be in her shoes, so to speak.

Bracing herself for some harsh words, she nodded and headed inside, Sentret giving a wave that wished her luck.

o0o

"I realize you've lacked some confidence in your ability to fight but that is no excuse to be breaking out of the guild like a criminal just to practice." Roserade said sternly, "I had some faith when Rio said you were joining that you would be a bit more obedient to guild rules than this." Elisa felt like she had been called into the principal/dean's office for wrongdoing in school. Roserade's lecture to her had taken a few minutes but the last bit summed up the problem rather nicely.

"Sorry, Guildmaster…" she said, making her tone as apologetic as possible. Her ears even laid back across her head in shame.

Roserade's expression softened.

"I'll be generous and excuse your actions this once. But don't do it again alright?" she said, a threatening edge making it clear a second infraction of the rules would be properly punished.

Elisa nodded, looking meek. Then she had to ask,

"Um… I heard Rio saw what happened." She said hesitantly, choosing her words with some care, " I… I can't really remember all of what happened." She finished. This was a lie as she actually remembered everything with painful clarity.

"Yes… I heard… and saw the aftermath myself." The Guildmaster said, now sounding grave, "What you did was most dangerous… especially to yourself."

Elisa's silence prompted Roserade to continue.

"Using a move like Overheat, when you don't know how to properly use it, is very dangerous. However, I must say, you used it effectively if you drove off _those_ three with it… but you exhausted your inner flame to do so. When we found you at that clearing, you were nearly cool, which isn't good for any fire-type."

"Yeah… Sentret kinda explained that to me." Elisa said shyly.

"It's fortunate you were so close to the guild or we might not have been able to construct a fire for you like that on such short-notice. We had to ask Quil from the village to help as he's the only other fire-type nearby."

Elisa blinked, a little surprised that Quil had effectively helped save her life.

"I-I'll be sure to thank him when I get the chance." Elisa promised, then Rio came to mind as well.

"Where is Rio by the way? Back in our bedroom?" She wanted to ask about Kale and why he had joined Team Gangster.

Roserade looked concerned when Elisa asked this.

"Actually no, he isn't. He seems to gone somewhere but no one knows where. He vanished shortly after we got you on the way to recovery. I thought something seemed wrong but he wouldn't speak to me, even when I asked." Her concern was also in her voice.

"Do… _you_ have any idea where he might've gone?" Elisa asked slowly, somewhat hopeful for an answer.

Unfortunately, Roserade had no ideas as to where Rio had gone either. Elisa started to doubt her memory of last night…

_Did I say something that he overheard…?_

Her mind started to panic slightly, wondering what he had seen or heard that might've upset him. She was just considering going out to search for him when Roserade cut-in on her thoughts.

"I suggest you rest here at the guild. At the very least, you shouldn't be exploring after what you went through last night. I believe you should continue to rest."

_Did she read my mind or something?_

She wasn't about to argue with the Guildmaster though and conceded to her prescribed course of action.

"Can I at least go find Quil and thank him for his help?"

Roserade nodded, seeing this as reasonable and, satisfied Elisa left the room and headed out of the guild.

o0o

She went down to Silver Village and Munchlax was one of the first to greet her.

"Heard you were out-of-it for most of the day. What'd you do? Try taking on an army of grass-types?" The banker laughed.

Elisa smiled at the attempt at humor. She was distracted by concern for her partner. Then Quil came walking up, overhearing the conversation.

"Elisa!" he called as he approached, "Good to see you're up and well again. What the heck did you do to put yourself in a state like _that_?" he said, a little incredulous, "Roserade only told me they needed my help and, while I _was_ concerned, I was busy. I didn't have the time to ask what had happened once I had helped you on your way to recovery. I was certainly shocked though."

"Ah… yeah…" Elisa said a little embarrassed when she thought about how she had acted last night "I guess I just got a little… overzealous when I got defensive on Team Gangster."

_Overzealous? That's an understatement. Why'd I react that way anyways? Me and Rio aren't like that… nothing like that. It was obvious Honchkrow was just trying to shake me up._

As she thought on this though, she couldn't help feeling uncomfortable at the mere idea of Rio parting ways with her.

Elisa shook her head, mentally slapping herself and discarded the issue.

Quil meanwhile was expressing his amazement that she had been fighting off Team Gangster.

"Well, it's no wonder then if you were taking _them_ on all by yourself. I think I would've been out like a light too if I had tried a stunt like that." Quil said with a light laugh.

"By the way, has Rio been in town today?" Elisa asked, her mind still sidetracked on Rio's whereabouts.

Quil and Munchlax exchanged glances with each other and Munchlax shrugged.

"Haven't seen him today…" Munchlax said, "I would've if he had come to town. Anyone who comes from the guild has to pass by the bank at least."

"I haven't seen him either." Quil said, curious now, "Why? You can't find him?"

"No… I can't. He's not in the guild and no one there knows where he went." Elisa said, then decided she would go looking for him _around_ the guild.

"Well anyhow, I came to thank you for your help, Quil. I don't know if I would've recovered if you hadn't helped. I'm going to get going."

"No problem," Quil said pleasantly, "Any friend of Rio's is a friend of mine and I help my friends. See you around."

Elisa nodded and headed back up the path to the guild.

o0o

_Alright…where to start? He's obviously not __**in**__ the guild._

There was really only one place to check: the clearing where the entire upsetting incident had taken place.

Sentret (still outside the guild, disposing of the burnt wood now) noticed her going there and followed her, asking her what she was looking for.

"Just for Rio. Thought there might be something back here that might show why he's vanished on us."

Sentret continued to follow, explaining that he thought it ideal to keep with her in case something happened at the clearing with her again.

_I seriously doubt Team Gangster is going to bother me again after how I acted and there's probably nothing else there to upset me._

Elisa arrived and was a little shocked when she saw her handiwork for herself. She hadn't been able to really see it last night in the darkness with her state of mind at that time.

It looked almost as if a large bomb had detonated in the center. The blackened remains of the grass were flattened out and pointed away from the center of the black circle where she had evidently been sitting/standing the previous night when she had… exploded. A few trees at the edges were scorched and leaves closest to the circle were burnt away entirely if not withered from the heat.

"Whoa…" she blinked, "_I _did this?"

"A fire-type anyways." Sentret assured her, "You wouldn't see this kind of firepower," he chuckled at the pun, "with any other kind of pokemon. So it was either you or Quil who did it. Pretty obvious which one."

Elisa stepped into the clearing, looking around. She was heavily reminded of something… but she couldn't think of what. The scene looked familiar…

Her paw came down on something as she stepped close to the center. She lifted it and looked down.

There was an odd… thing that she had stepped on. She slipped her paw under it and lifted it to take a closer look.

It looked like a feather… one that was as clear as glass. She wondered for that moment why the wind hadn't blown it away yet.

"Geez Elisa… I can't believe you managed to do this…" Sentret muttered, looking around at the clearing himself, "Amazes me you didn't start a forest fire right here. 'Course if you had, I think Croc would've been able to handle it quickly enough."

Elisa was putting the feather away while listening, but didn't catch his last sentence because the one before had refreshed her memory, causing her to pause.

_Forest fire… oh…  
><em>_Oh no… I hope Rio wasn't thinking-_

She cut-off any further thought. She swung back around and darted past Sentret, who was startled by her sudden sprint.

She had an idea where Rio was now… and what he was thinking.

The first thing she did was rush back to the Guildmaster. If possible, Elisa wanted to avoid getting in deeper trouble but she was **not** going to wait a day to track Rio down if she had an idea of his whereabouts.

She burst into the chamber, immediately yelling

"Roserade, I think I know where Rio's gone!" Roserade was present and the somewhat violent entrance had startled her, several thorny vines sprouting from her flowery hands in reaction.

"Elisa." She breathed as she realized who had come in, relaxing slightly and the vines retracted "What is it? Something about Rio?"

"I think I know where Rio went." Elisa repeated, "Please! Let me go find him!" she said, determined to go, even if she had to beg the Guildmaster to allow her. Roserade asked where she thought Rio had gone.

"I think he's gone to Denwood Forest." Elisa said and cut-in before Roserade could respond, "It's a bit hard to explain and I don't want to waste any time trying to. Just let me go find him. I know where I'll find him in the forest."

Roserade looked quite concerned.

"In your current condition-" she started.

"_I know!"_ Elisa interrupted desperately, "But if I don't find him quickly, something could go wrong! Please, let me go find him. I know I can do it alone. I've already been there twice, I can do it again."

Roserade sighed, her patience stretching.

After a long minute, Roserade closed her eyes.

"Alright… I hope I am not mistaking foolhardiness for courage here." She sighed, "It is against my better judgement, but if you insist, you may go. However, _be careful there_, do I make myself clear?"

Elisa's heart jumped in excitement.

"Yes. Thank you, Roserade!" Elisa bowed her head in deepest gratitude and headed out before Roserade could say anymore.


	15. Confrontation

_**This and the next chapter were actually going to be one but it seemed more fitting to have them be two separate chapters.**_

_**Thank you for the confidence-boosters in the reviews. I guess I need to trust my ability to write well a bit more. Still, I have some misgivings about my quality so all reviews will be appreciated.**_

_**Enjoy.**_

PMD: Life In Flames

Chapter 14: Confrontation

Elisa headed for Denwood alone. It wasn't the smartest course of action given what could happen but with how she was feeling, Elisa was sure nothing was going to be able to stop her.

She torched a Gloom that got in the way, ran by a Sudowoodo that barred her path and continued deeper into the forest. She knew_ exactly _where she wanted to go.

The mystery dungeon slowed her progress but she continued searching for the one location she knew Rio had to be at: the spot where she had woken up. She met a few pokemon that she wouldn't have met in the middle of the day such as Murkrow (a bit braver than Mort from Team Gangster) and she even thought she spotted an Umbreon once, crouched low in a dark corner, though it vanished in the darkness before she could be sure. She focused her mind on her present task.

_Rio probably saw the explosion and how it looked afterwards. It's no wonder it looked so familiar. It looked much like the spot where I had been when I ended up in this world._

She felt a desperate worry about Rio… about what he was likely thinking after seeing her lose herself like that.

_I don't know how he'll take it if he thinks I started that fire out of outrage or something. He'll probably think I was lying then. But I don't want to lose him. He's the only pokemon around here I feel I can trust now that Alex has left!_

Her concerns might've been misplaced about Rio. Maybe he would be more understanding than she suspected… she had no way of truly knowing until she talked to Rio for herself.

She fled from a flock of disturbed bird-pokemon and continued weaving her way through the trees.

_He's there… I know he is. He's looking for evidence there. I need to make sure he doesn't get the wrong idea or anything._

She pushed herself to run faster.

o0o

She arrived at the clearing, out of breath. The massive tree was still there of course. Night had fallen some time ago and only one or two rays of moonlight were managing to get through the trees, shrouding the clearing in much darkness.

She looked around for Rio on the ground… she didn't see him immediately and in that moment, she was worried she had come all this way for nothing.

_He might be somewhere out of view…_

But she also drew slight comfort that he might not have gone here. It would indicate he trusted her more than she had expected.

However, the fact that it was dark in the clearing did not help with spotting him if he was present. She was a bit hesitant to start a fire for fear of propagating another forest fire but then she recalled how Rio had said the trees around this forest didn't burn as easily as one would expect.

She was looking around for something to possibly light like a torch and carry around when she noticed a mild amount of light on the ground around her. Following the light with her eyes, she found herself staring at her own six tails, which seemed to be gently glowing like they were flames themselves. Thinking of them caused the tails to shift like she was wagging them and the light moved accordingly. The tails were definitely the light-source.

_That's interesting… I don't think that normally happens when I'm asleep or I'd be keeping Rio awake._

She started to think again of lighting something to use a torch when her tails flared slightly. Her thoughts were torn away out of surprise and the light faded back to its previous level.

_Okay… this is new… but I might be able to make use of it._

She tried thinking of light again as she had before and on cue, her tails flared, but she was prepared this time and held her thoughts together, the glowing appendages keeping their brightness.

She couldn't help giggling, pleased with her new little talent.

"So… you came looking for me?"

Elisa jumped and looked in the direction of the voice. She knew Rio's voice when she heard it.

Rio was, incredibly enough, standing on top of the fallen tree (he had to be several dozen feet off the ground, given how huge the tree was). However, it was so dark, all she could really see was his silhouette, which was hard enough to see as it was.

He jumped down from the tree, catching tree limbs and making his way down, until finally making a three-point landing several feet in front of her, considerably more visible now. It was amazing he didn't hurt himself in the landing.

Oddly, his expression wasn't angry… or even all that upset despite what Elisa had been expecting. Elisa actually wasn't sure what to make of his expression, which seemed unreadable.

"What told you you'd find me out here?" Rio asked in a rather dead tone.

"I… I saw the… results of last night…" Elisa said slowly. She could sense a certain… fragility about Rio, as such she instinctively began choosing her words with care. Something in her was telling her it would be ideal to avoid hitting a nerve by accident.

"Hm… easy to see that, I suppose…" her partner said, his tone still dull.

"Rio… I… I'm sorry you saw all that…"

"Yeah?" Rio cut-in, his voice rising slightly, "You're sorry?"

"I-I didn't mean to… to…" Elisa was getting intimidated now.

"Didn't mean to what?" Rio said, his voice taking on a new life. "Didn't mean to hide so much from me?" He said, his tone accusatory now.

"I didn't start the forest fire here!" Elisa yelled quickly, before he could start to accuse her of it. He looked mildly surprised at this out-burst but the surprise soon vanished. He turned his gaze away from her.

"Elisa… when we made a team, I thought we would trust each other. I thought you'd be more willing to open up to me about your problems." The Riolu was starting to sound upset now.

"I didn't lie, Rio. I haven't. Not about this fire." Elisa insisted.

"So what if you didn't start it? You still haven't told me what's wrong!" Rio snapped back, "You couldn't come to me to ask about my dad? You had to go ask _those_ three? Am I not good enough? Aren't I here to **help**?" Rio yelled. In the firelight coming from Elisa herself, she could see tears appearing in Rio's eyes.

"Rio I-"

"**Aren't we partners?**" Rio yelled, cutting her off yet again. She winced under the harsh words and there was several moments of silence while Rio heaved, clearly upset.

"Rio… I-I was scared… scared of how you'd react to the question…" Elisa said, feeling overwhelmed now. Rio looked like he would've liked to yell at her some more, but he had no response to this.

"So what happened? Is it why you didn't want to be friends at first? You hate pokemon? What is it?" Rio said, his tone calmer now though still upset.

"What?" Elisa felt lost now. "What are you talking about?"

"It's obvious you didn't react that way to Honchkrow like someone normally would." Rio said, sounding annoyed, "Why did you react so violently? What happened?"

Elisa blinked… if she were honest, she would've preferred not to tell Rio why she had reacted that way.

"Rio… I… I don't-"

"Don't tell me… you don't know…" Rio said tensely "_Please_… don't lie to me like this." Elisa hadn't ever seen him upset.

"I-I don't want to say…" Elisa admitted. She could feel a very uncomfortable knot in her chest and her heart was pounding hard.

"If you can't trust me enough to tell me why… I don't want to be partners with you. Not if you're not going to trust me to help." Rio said sharply.

Elisa was shocked. There was no other word for it.

"Rio… I-It's a very personal issue for me…" she said, fear starting to take hold now.

"**And asking about my Dad isn't one for me as well?**" Rio was outraged, "**If you had just asked, I would've been willing to tell you! But no! You had to go ask **_**them**_**!**"

Elisa staggered back. She hadn't ever seen Rio enraged as he was now. He had been determined, sad, timid, surprised, even scared in the past… but she hadn't seen him angry or truly upset until now.

Rio then abruptly turned away, his paws up in surrender and shaking his head.

"Fine… you're not going to open up… I'm done… there's no point in trying to force it out." he said moodily and started to walk away.

Elisa reacted almost completely by instinct. She was fully on her feet and before she realized what had happened, she had charged forward and tackled Rio, knocking him to the ground. He tumbled forward so she wasn't on top of him. She wanted to stop him from leaving. That was the only thing she was aware of in those seconds.

Rio looked ready to retaliate but Elisa slapped him across the face as he was getting to his feet. The action was so sudden and sharp that he was stunned for the moment.

"Rio! I-_ I was scared you were going leave me_!" She burst out yelling, "There! Are you _happy_ now? _That's_ why I reacted like I did!" She was the one breathing hard now. She could feel the same tension from the previous night invading her thoughts. She could feel the tears coming.

Rio got over his shock of getting slapped and blinked.

"You were scared… because of what Honchkrow merely _suggested_ to you? You really thought I'd _do_ that?" He sounded hurt now, which wasn't surprising.

Elisa's mind was at war with itself. Half of her didn't want to tell Rio the full-story… it was too painful to recall. The other half didn't want to prompt him to leave by keeping silence. It would be her human life all over again. Unbearable, deep, scarring pain.

"I can't… I can't talk about it…" Elisa said, mostly through her teeth. "I don't want to remember…" the tears were already starting to flow.

"What? Is it the reason for your aura? Is that why you became so upset? What happened in your past?"

_Aura? What about it?_

"Please Rio… it's too painful… I don't… want…to talk about it…" Elisa said, she could feel herself trembling again.

"Please Elisa… I'm asking because I'm worried about you." Rio said, his tone suddenly pleading. "Why? Why is your aura black?"

Elisa blinked, surprised.

"Black... aura? What has that got to do with anything?"

Rio had a troubled look now.

"An aura like that… isn't natural. It indicates something wrong with the owner of the aura. Something hidden. I realized this entire time you don't want tell me, but please, I just want to help." Rio explained.

"And how do you know this?" Elisa said, feeling confused.

"It's because… my Dad's aura used to be the same way." Rio said, he looked guilty as he admitted this. "Your aura wasn't like that until last night when Honchkrow upset you like that. Then it flared so intensely… _that's_ what upset me about last night. It was that you clearly had a problem of some sort that you had been hiding. It hurt to think that you didn't trust me enough to look to me for help with what's been bothering you. When I started to wonder if it meant something else about you… I went looking here for evidence…I was scared as well... scared to find out something terrible."

After a moment of taking in these words, Elisa realized that both of them had been feeling the same way. They had had doubts about one another… and it hurt for her to think of that as well.

"I haven't found anything… not yet. But that aura told me that you're either hiding something or you're not the good person I've been led to think you are. Elisa... please... tell me what happened. I don't want to doubt who you are but so long as that aura remains... I don't know what to think."

Elisa closed her eyes to think… her only option for regaining Rio's trust… was to come out with her story to him. To not do so would only pile pain upon more pain.

_At least tell him about my past._

However, just thinking about it caused a deep ache as thinking of the pain caused it to arise.

_H-how can I tell him? I don't want to dredge up that pain. I don't want to remember it._ Even as she thought this though... she realized she was remembering it anyways.

"Elisa?" Rio gently cut-in on her thoughts, looking for an answer from her.

_The question isn't if I _should_ tell him… it's if I _can_. If I can bear it._

Hoping to motivate herself, she considered how much she valued Rio's companionship in this world.

To her surprise, when she thought on that, the pain of her loss died away, if only slightly.

She thought it over more… and she found something that she had been trying to deny the entire time.

_Me and Rio… it's… I've gotten so attached to him… I've been lying to myself this entire time. It actually _is_ like with Rick. Have I fallen in love with him?_

She could hardly believe it and wondered if it was her body having effect on her mind. She wasn't exactly certain either but it was an undenible possibility in her mind.

Unexpectedly, she burst out laughing. It was ironic… she had wanted herself to hate pokemon and here she was… falling in love with one _as_ a pokemon herself.

Rio was certainly surprised by the sudden out-burst.

"What is it?" he sounded quite bemused.

"It-it's just a silly thought…" she said as she contained her laughter, deciding to keep it secret.

_It's no wonder then I've become so attached to him.  
><em>_…Maybe I can bear this pain… so long as he's here to support me. He's certainly not Rick... but..._

She braced herself for what looked like a hard experience just ahead her.

_I need to stand-up for myself… or at least make a start of it. I can do this…_

There was little confidence in her thoughts but she was determined to go through with this and just hope for the best.

"Alright Rio… I'll… try to tell you what happened…"

And so... she started to tell her partner, Rio about Rick and how he had disappeared on her years ago when she was human.


	16. Black & White

_**Here's a chapter I'm worried about the quality on. Again, it could just be a lack of confidence on my part, but we'll see.**_

_**I hope all my readers enjoy.**_

PMD: Life in Flames

Chapter 15: Black & White

It was as difficult for Elisa to share her past as she had expected. Thinking about how Rick had vanished like he had, was something her mind rebelled against… she didn't want to acknowledge what had happened. However, she managed to reach the end of her story. To her, it felt like a miracle that she hadn't fallen apart, wanting to die right there.

"Why blame pokemon in general Elisa?" Rio said as she ended her story, "Sure, I'd understand your… dislike of whoever might've made him disappear… but still…"

Elisa sighed, her heart felt extremely heavy. It hurt beyond words.

"Rio… I know I shouldn't blame pokemon… I _know_ that… but I felt I needed someone to blame for the suffering I had experienced. There were only two things to blame. And I didn't want to admit to myself… that _I_ was to blame for it happening."

"Whoa, hold on." Rio said quickly, "_You're_ to blame?" He repeated, sounding as if she had just confessed to destroying a planet or some other impossibility.

"I supported his actions… I was the one who pushed him to do it… I-"

"That's enough." Rio cut-in sharply, shaking his head, "This is just… silly." He clearly sounded like he would've liked to use a different word but used 'silly' out of some respect.

"Why are you blaming anyone for a loss like this? Sure, I've had my losses as well but I bucked-up and bore those losses." He continued, "I don't claim to understand your pain. But I _do_ understand how it is to lose someone important to you. You should know what I mean."

Elisa looked up at him, curious.

"Have you already forgotten that my Dad's vanished on me? You think his disappearance hasn't affected me as well?"

"But-"

"Elisa, I realize he could be dead. He might be gone… permanently. But I'm not blaming Team Gangster for that. I'm not blaming myself. I'm not blaming _anyone_, even if there _was_ someone responsible for it. What possessed you to think you _needed_ someone to blame for this Rick-guy vanishing as well?"

"He-he was the only boy I found I could connect with…" Elisa said, finding her argument quite flimsy.

"You've connected with **me**, haven't you?" Rio said with a light-hearted laugh, "I doubt I'll ever take quite the place this Rick-guy had in your life but I'm _someone_ to you, aren't I?"

Elisa was grateful her face was naturally red and covered with fur, or otherwise it would've been obvious how embarrassed she was feeling at that moment.

_Rio… you have no idea…_

"My point is, Elisa, I understand how heartbroken you've been over losing this friend but… if he saw you doing this to yourself… I think he'd tell you to find someone else to connect to as well. I doubt he intended to be your only friend in your life."

This prompted Elisa to reflect on her life and think over her actions.

_Would he want me to do that?_ It was a rather silly question with an obvious answer.

Thinking back, Elisa hadn't felt she really connected with the other girls back when she was human. She had found familiarity in Rick. He had had many of the same interests. Among those was an interest in her appearance… and interest in her. He paid attention to her… because of_ who_ she was. Not _what_ she was. That was what had made Elisa feel like she belonged with him.

She had felt that everyone else judged her by looks or standing in school. She felt she could defend herself against the judgments of another girl… but boys were another story. It was the reason she had felt her words to be silly and/or trivial to everyone else… because she expected to be judged thusly. She expected to be laughed at for her views or her words. As a result, she had tried to avoid that judgment. Rick though, had pressed past her fears and gotten her to realize he wasn't judging her that way.

In a sense, Rio had been like Rick. He had persisted in trying to be friends with her (and succeeded… with a little help). If there was any judgment he had made about her in the past weeks, it was that she was his invaluable partner. He saw someone he could be a friend and a partner to. Not a fire-type or a Vulpix, who might be powerful. Certainly not just another pokemon in the guild. He saw a fellow being he wanted to be with on an exploration team.

Her life up to this point had all been based around fear… fear of judgment from others.

Alex had been right: she needed to stand up for herself. What he hadn't added was that she needed to stop being afraid of what others thought of her. She had stood up to the unknown and gone on adventures already. Now she needed to face what others might think of her and face up to those judgments as well.

Elisa had been looking at the ground, thinking this over and she finally raised her head. She gathered her resolve and, looking at Rio, knew with confidence he wouldn't do anything like leaving her to hurt her. She knew he'd be there to help (if she'd accept it) and any doubts about that weren't about to bother her again.

"Rio… thanks… thank you for listening to me… and helping me with facing up to this problem." Her partner gave her a bright smile, happy to receive her gratitude.

"Didn't Croc tell you on the first day? We need to support each other. Besides that, you're my partner and I'm not about to leave you in pain if I can help." Rio said cheerily.

To her immense pleasure, Elisa felt a great feeling of contentment flood through her. She breathed out, her pain seeming to vanish as she let go of her past.

_Sure Rick's gone… but Rio's right. Everyone back in my human-life has been telling me this but I've been too stubborn to listen. That I need to move on… Rio's not going to leave me in this world... and even if he were to... I can always find someone else to help me find my way back home. It would be hard but I've dealt with harder already so..._

Thinking on Rio, she was reminded of what Rio had said about Kale.

"By the way Rio… you said Kale had a black aura once too? I thought you said it had always been white. What happened with him? And why'd he'd join those idiots in the first place?"

Rio's smile was a little unsteady but he managed to keep up a cheerful mood.

"It's kind of a long story but if you want to know… I can tell you. Sorry I lied about that... I just don't like to think about that. Black auras kind of scare me."

"I think I can help support you." She said, giving him a warm smile.

"Well, it's pretty late right now so how about we get back to the guild and I'll tell you there?" Rio suggested. Elisa felt a twinge of impatience… she wanted to know_ now_ but she called up her patience and agreed.

o0o

Once they had navigated through Denwood and arrived back at the guild with all haste, they managed to get Sentret awake and he allowed them in. He was happy to see both of them together and Rio back to his usual cheerful mood.

Once Sentret had decided to stop holding them over in his welcome-back and head back up to the sentry post, they headed to their own bedroom and settled down.

"So, do you still want to know?" Rio said, keeping his breathing calm as he sat down against the wall.

"Please…" Elisa said gently and sat down on her bed to listen.

"Well… from what I understand, my mom and dad… they met early on when my dad was a bit younger. Both were Lucario already and… well, she liked him. But my dad… he told me exploration teams had always inspired him."

"Sounds like someone else I know." Elisa chuckled. Rio just smiled, understanding the jibe.

"Well, my dad tried to join exploration teams several times… but he tended to mess up. He charged in too quickly… or he fell behind… or just wasn't strong enough to get through the dungeon. There wasn't any exploration guild in the local area at the time and he kept getting kicked out of teams. Then Team Gangster showed up and offered to help him build up strength and be a better explorer."

"So Honchkrow lied when he said he didn't know why Kale joined?"

"Yeah…" Rio was somewhat hesitant and sounded very sad, "My mom didn't approve and there was… well, there was also _me_ to worry about. I had been born not too long before this happened. But my dad saw hope for a future in an exploration team… with Team Gangster. They helped him build up strength… he knew that much. However, he quickly realized their brutality and the lack of compassion they had for anyone else. They wouldn't allow him to escape though when he wanted to leave."

"Honchkrow said your dad's skill was the reason why they couldn't stop him. What happened?" Elisa pressed.

"I don't know the details… but I guess they helped my dad build up a little _too_ much strength. After a couple of years being stuck with them… he apparently challenged Gliscor to a fight and managed to beat him and made them release him from their team. That was about the first time I really saw my dad."

"When he returned home?"

"Mom wasn't happy that he had left in the first place and she was worried about him the whole time. When he returned like that… I don't think I'd ever seen her cry before. I think he also had to move fast to avoid getting hit with an attack too…" Rio chuckled at the memory but his expression darkened as he returned to his story, "I could see my dad's aura… and it was black then."

"What was wrong?" Elisa asked.

"I found out _that_ after Team Gangster chased him down to get revenge. They tracked him down and he returned… in uh… bad shape." It was obvious Rio was purposely understating the severity.

"They… beat him up?"

"Yeah… my mom decided to leave then. She didn't want anymore to do with it and she was worried about my well-being. But… I… I wanted him to stay so she ended up just leaving me with him. She was scared but… there wasn't anything I could do about that."

Rio had a definite edge of guilt in his voice as he spoke. Elisa felt a deep amount of sympathy for Rio and a bit of pity.

"My dad confided in me and trained me from there on out. He was determined that if I wanted to stay by his side, that I learn to be the honorable kind of explorer he had always seen himself being one day. His aura seemed to never change though. It was always black and it kept distracting me. I finally had to ask why it was that way."

Rio closed his eyes, calling up the memory.

"He told me…" Rio swallowed, finding it hard to speak on the matter, "He told me… that it was because he was ashamed of himself. Ashamed of all the trouble he'd put my mom and me through. He was ashamed of his selfishness in leaving us. He felt he couldn't let go of that shame and he thought at that time… that he never would…"

Rio cried a little at this point. His breathing was uneven as a few tears formed but he soon got a hold of himself.

"He continued to teach me how to fight… his aura continued to distract me though and I… I was still pretty young then… I asked if I could help make his aura a different color. I guess it was because I was naive then..." he chuckled to himself again, "He laughed then too… he told me he appreciated the thought but he doubted I could do anything to help."

"When did it turn white then?" Elisa asked, absorbed in the story.

"I'm pretty sure it changed after Team Gangster tried to press-gang me into their team. I told you before, how the Roserade and my dad saved me from that. Roserade and Jinx were an exploration team then that dad knew. My dad… he… well, to be honest… he seemed as upset as you were when I saw you the other night. He was in tears and if Team Gangster hadn't been intimidated by Jinx at the time… I think he would've been willing to _kill_ them to defend me. He told me afterwards, how it wasn't my fault and he was completely to blame for the trouble I'd ended up in. Roserade tried to tell him otherwise but he wouldn't hear it. But… I told him I agreed with her. I think it shocked him…" Rio said, speaking frankly.

"That's when his aura changed?"

"No…" Rio closed his eyes again, thinking, "…My dad told me Roserade was wrong. That he was at fault for all my troubles. He actually told me he wasn't going to stay with me… too dangerous for me. But… I told him I didn't care about that. I honestly never had cared that I was in danger so long as he was around…" Rio opened his eyes again, tears forming once more, "I told him then… that I had always been proud to have a father like him. A strong explorer who defended those too weak to defend themselves."

Rio had a fond smile now.

"He was surprised to hear my words but when I got his attention again… he asked if I really thought that. I always had. I knew he had done bad things… but he hadn't meant anyone harm and besides that… he had gotten the strength to defend me and so many others. I told him again… how proud I was to be his son."

Rio wiped his eyes, his smile never fading even slightly.

"I don't think I'd ever seen my dad so happy before. And his aura… that's when it changed… he was so happy to hear me say that… it was so bright…"

Elisa felt quite touched by the story.

"I think after that, my dad worked even harder to train me and make himself better. When I was strong enough to support myself, he started heading out on explorations. I wanted to come along but he insisted I go out and train for myself in the small time dungeons... I couldn't tell you how many times I got knocked out but just kept on trying. And then... the last time I saw my dad... he said he was going to Mt. Corona..."

Elisa blinked.

"Wait. Mt. Corona? Really? The same mountain Team Long Ears went to?"

"Yeah... I'm kind of hoping Alex might find my dad somewhere in there... maybe just held captive or something. I haven't the slightest idea of what happened to him. Like I said, I haven't seen him for some months." Rio sighed, his smile fading as he thought about Kale, "Roserade made a guild at some point and she invited into the guild many times but it wasn't until recently I finally accepted the invitation. She had also meant to invite my dad but he was gone so often and didn't really visit with her. She just wanted to help and it took a lot of failures for me to realize I needed the help and the training. I've been exploring side-by-side with Croc and Ledyba for those first weeks... then you showed up."

"I think you've gotten better." Elisa assured him.

"Yeah, with your help... and everyone else's..." Rio said, sounding slightly disappointed, "I wish I could do things by myself but..."

_By yourself?_

For some reason... the words seemed to echo in her head.

_"You must rely on friends or you will fail."_

Elisa shook her head as the words came back to her.

_Why'd that memory pop into my head right then? I've got a friend right here to help me._

"Well, I think we've spent enough time staying up." Rio said, interrupting her thoughts "I'm getting all the sleep I can before Pitch comes and wakes me up." He then crawled over to his straw bed and settled down to sleep.

Elisa was about to get back to her last thoughts when Rio spoke up one last time.

"Elisa... thanks for be honest with me. Thanks... for being my partner."

"No Rio... Thank _you_. I don't think I would've gotten over my problems if you hadn't gotten me to see some sense."

Rio accepted the thanks and closed his eyes, going to sleep.

Elisa remained up... thinking.

_Friends... hm... Rio's everything to me right now... but what about when I head back?  
>Who can I find there to have as a friend? And what about Rio?<em>

She lay down and continued to ponder on the matter... until she dozed off.


	17. A Disruption

_**A new issue is coming to light in this chapter.**_

_**In the meantime, I'm just going to have a nice little activity in introducing it.**_

_**Enjoy.**_

PMD: Life in Flames

Chapter 16: A Disruption

Life seemed to take on a different perspective for Elisa.

She still felt awkward, deep down when talking to other pokemon but her new willingness to reach out and try to be friends with them helped her to not act quite so shy anymore.

She wasn't so afraid of judgment now. She was aware that others would make those judgments but she had realized she needed to simply accept whatever they thought of her and if those judgments were not as she would've liked, she could act to try and change it.

Croc was one of the first to notice. What drew his attention to the change was when she actually said "good morning" to him as they went over to the job board.

"What happened with you?" He said cheerfully, "You're usually quiet but you're talkative today."

"Is there something wrong with that?" Elisa asked, putting on an innocent tone, as she knew what Croc was talking about. Her previous shyness and timidity had kept her from really socializing with Croc in the past. He laughed in response.

"Oh no, there's definitely nothing wrong. I'm just wondering if this is just a good day for you or if I'm going to be seeing this good mood _every_ day now."

"I can go back to being moody if you like." Elisa joked. A definite change in attitude for her. The water-type burst out in a loud guffaw at that and told her not to.

Rio's mood meanwhile, seemed to be brighter than ever. Then again, it could've been that Elisa hadn't noticed in her shy and gloomy moods. Either way, Rio was in high spirits all that morning and the former human felt… happy. There was no other word for it.

A couple of days after their confrontation, Elisa managed to convince Rio to pick another new location for them to explore.

"Okay, how about _this_ then?" He said with a silly grin and pointed out a spot on the map, telling her the name:

"Ash Cave?" She blinked at the name. The cave was to the north, further north than the guild and to the good distance west of Denwood Forest. The base of Mt. Corona wasn't far from the cave.

"Trust me; it's more interesting in there than the name might have you thinking." Rio assured her, "It was one of the first places I tried exploring myself… I think I was overconfident then. But I might be strong enough now and with your help, maybe we can find something down there."

"Any jobs for it?"

"Actually…" Rio looked at the job board and laughed as he spotted one that he picked off the board, "I think you'll like this. C'mon, let's go meet the client."

Curious about what Rio meant, Elisa followed him out of the guild and they headed to the point where they were supposed to rendezvous with the client in question.

When they arrived, Elisa was pleasantly surprised to find Quil waiting there.

"Wait a minute… you're not our client, are you, Quil?"

Rio was chortling. The answer was obviously "yes" as Quil just smiled.

"I was wondering if you two were going to take the little job I posted."

Elisa glanced at Rio who was continuing to grin.

"So, what's the job?" Elisa asked, looking for an answer from either of them.

"I wanted to get out and about. Get a more of a feel for exploring." Quil explained, "I've been wanting to explore Ash Cave for a while but I wasn't sure who to ask. I think I'm in safe paws with the two of you though."

Elisa, noticing that he had said "more of a feel", reminded herself that he had apparently explored Moss Cove in the past (as Rio had told her). He had explored before… he just wasn't a regular like they were.

"So, ready to head out then?" Rio asked Quil.

"Anytime."

"Right. Let's make a discovery in there."

o0o

Ash Cave felt a lot more welcoming to Elisa than Moss Cove had. The inside of the cave was mostly a charcoal-black and they could feel a slight amount of heat rising out of the cave into the air.

"Ash Cave is actually connected to Mt. Corona from what I understand." Rio explained, "Mt. Corona's an inactive volcano and there's a few lava flows deep down in Ash Cave that flow from Mt. Corona. I personally think it's the main reason Corona's not active is because it vents all the lava that would otherwise erupt from the peak, out through Ash Cave. I'm not really sure where the lava goes from there though."

"It shouldn't be too difficult for the three of us." Quil commented confidently.

"I certainly will welcome the heat." Elisa said cheerfully. She was also curious about trying to touch lava/magma as she was. As a human, she had never seen molten rock (except on TV) and obviously wouldn't have dreamed of touching it. But now, she was a pokemon that was unharmed by flames. She was sure magma wouldn't harm her either.

Confident, they headed inside.

The cave started off relatively cool. Rio was just fine in the warmth of the cavern and Elisa felt very comfortable. They were coming across a few ground-types such as Geodude and Numel (which were little camel-like pokemon that were also fire-type). Quil was capable of putting up a decent fight if he needed to as he rolled at them, his back blazing with fire. Combined with Rio and Elisa's abilities, most of their opponents went down fast.

When one Numel spat flames at Rio, Elisa stepped up and returned fire. The attack didn't do much damage to the camel (being a fire-type itself) but its flames were merely absorbed by Elisa, which fueled her own attacks. It went down under intense flames.

"I guess not _all _fire-types absorb fire, eh?" Elisa said, somewhat cheekily to Rio. He gave her a playful little punch in the side.

"It didn't exactly fall fast either though." He said pointedly. Elisa noticed a fighting-type Meditite approaching out of the corner of her eye.

"How about _this_ then?" She retorted and turned to the fighting-type several feet from her.

She had, over the previous night, figured out a key aspect about her abilities. She inhaled deep, focusing her thoughts and the flame sac expanded to full size in her belly. She then forcibly exhaled, spitting a vast ball of flames at the Meditite, which was knocked right off its feet by the impact of the speeding fireball. It was down for the count immediately.

Rio and Quil were impressed by the show of force.

"Whoa… You do that _voluntarily_ this time?" Rio said, blinking in astonishment.

"Yep." She felt quite pleased with herself.

"Nice." Quil commented with an approving nod.

"So you figured out how to do it then?" Rio said, sounding a little excited now.

"Yeah… practice 'n all that…" Elisa mumbled, a little abashed. It was a small lie. Her face was unusually warm thinking about how she _actually_ did it.

She was grateful when Rio didn't ask further as she felt she would've been too embarrassed to explain.

_I wonder if there's something wrong with me or if it's just the fact that I'm a pokemon right now..._

She was pretty sure though that it was a sign of her affection for Rio... she had had to focus her thoughts on protecting him.

o0o

Ash Cave became hotter as they headed down and they got quite deep. The rocks took on a redder, warmer hue. They were a little less black and more red and brown, along with other hotter colors. Rio was starting to sweat as they headed deeper and Quil wanted to head deeper still.

Other fire-types such as Growlithe and Charmander (an orange lizard with a tail-fire) became more dominant among the residents of the cave in the deeper parts and small pools of magma were bubbling away in recesses of the walls. The molten rock was mostly black and hardened but stepping on it showed the rock's actual nature and hot liquid rock bled out. The hardened rock was merely a skin on top that would easily give under only a little weight.

Rio had to step lightly and very carefully, Elisa leading and keeping an eye on where she stepped so that Rio did not follow her somewhere un-ideal for him. When she stepped in lava once, she found it felt like how warm water would have to her as a human, only thicker. Her body's first instinct was to sink right into it and relax, being that it felt so nice. She resisted this though and backed up, making sure Rio didn't try going that direction.

"You holding up there, Rio?" Quil asked at one point, sounding mildly concerned.

"Yeah… I'm fine…" Rio panted. Looking at his face, Elisa started to wonder if he was starting to suffer heat stroke or some similar problem. Elisa and Quil were thriving in the temperatures, but despite his protests to the contrary, Rio was suffering.

"Well, we're almost as far as I wanted to go down. One more floor and I think I'll have had my fill." Quil said. Elisa felt she would've liked to gotten Rio out _now, _for his own good but she conceded to one more floor.

The proceeded on through the cave and were just arriving at the stairway when there was a sudden quake. They quickly looked around for the perpetrator but they were the only pokemon in the room. The entire cave shook but didn't collapse. They were unharmed for the moment. However, Elisa could feel something in her very core. Her body instinctively reacting in an… excited fashion. Something good for a fire-type had happened.

That got her worried about Rio's well-being. If it was good for a fire-type, it meant things were only going to get hotter. She and Quil would be right at home under whatever had happened but Rio was a different story.

Then Elisa noticed a nearby stream of magma flowing along. What she saw... confirmed her concerns.

"Quil, do you have any problem with getting out of here right now?" She said, her worries making her uneasy. Quil shook his head, he was still looking at Rio with concern.

"Elisa… what is it?" Rio panted, the excessive heat draining his strength "If it's me... you're worried about... I can take more heat... and keep things up… for just one more floor."

"Maybe you can take the heat… but I doubt you can take_ lava_." Elisa said tensely.

"Lava?"

"That flow over there… I'm pretty sure it wasn't that big a minute ago." She said, pointing it out, "I'm getting us out of here. Now."

Had they remained there any longer, Elisa would've had to protect Rio from a veritable wave of magma flooding the cave floor. She and Quil may have been able to set foot in magma but they certainly couldn't _breathe_ in it and Rio would've been killed in an instant by the molten rock.

So it was a wise decision when Elisa raised the exploration team badge she was wearing and teleported all three of them out.

o0o

They arrived back at the guild to a state of panic.

"W-what's going on?" She yelped as Sentret rushed by. Croc was running down to the village.

"Where'd you go on your exploration?" Sentret asked as soon as he stopped. It was not a casual question.

"We went to Ash Cave. Why?"

"Hooo boy…" Sentret laughed a little desperately, "No wonder you're wondering what happened if you went underground. Ash Cave of all places though… geez, you're lucky you didn't get a tidal wave of lava down there."

"Sentret! What's going on?" Elisa demanded again. Sentret pointed to a massive black pillar of smoke in the distance.

"Mt. Corona… it's erupting."


	18. Defiance

_**I think here's where things are going to start to get active.**_

_**Elisa's going to discover a bit more about her abilities as things go on. I realize some things (not necessarilly in this chapter) are going to deviate from how the games work but I've already allowed Elisa to use Overheat so...**_

_**Anyways, enjoy.**_

PMD: Life in Flames

Chapter 17: Defiance

Given the turn of events, it wasn't surprising an emergency meeting was called in Silver Village. Everyone from both the village and the guild gathered in the village center.

There was a lot of commotion concerning the eruption. The volcano wasn't spewing lava and hot ash everywhere… yet. However, if it was active, as it apparently was, it was only a matter of time before it _did_ erupt in that fashion, and rendered the island uninhabitable to all except for fire-types. The only pokemon not panicking on some level was Snorlax (who was too drowsy and tired from being woken up to react much) and the Guildmaster (who still looked concerned of course but kept calm).

"Where are most of us going to go? Treasure Town's too far for _all_ of us to evacuate to." Munchlax said, worried.

"I'd really hate to see this good town destroyed… I've got so many good friends and memories here…" Quil murmured sadly. Were the volcano to erupt, Quil and other fire-types would conceivably be able to stay if they wished however Silver Village would be no more.

"Given the recent course of events, and the fact that Mt. Corona has not erupted in years," Roserade said, directing the meeting, "I can only deduce this eruption is due to something Team Long Ears has done in Mt. Corona. No doubt it was an accident but it still is a high possibility they are the cause in some way."

Everyone started to become a little upset. They weren't becoming outraged towards the two explorers though. Actually, they were worried about them.

"I am sure they did not mean anyone harm like this. As I said, it was no doubt, an accident." Roserade repeated.

"How?" Elisa mumbled to herself. Neither of the two were fire-types and she didn't see how either Alex or Eve could've triggered the volcano to erupt, accidentally or not. If anything, they probably would've made it extinct by Eve simply chilling the lava.

"In the meantime, I'm afraid we must all make preparations to evacuate Veil Island. Jinx and myself will go to Mt. Corona and see if we cannot find someway to calm the mountain and perhaps rescue Team Long Ears from whatever trouble they likely are in. I realize the dangers of this action but we are the only team present that might be able to challenge this calamity."

With those words, everyone started to rapidly discuss evacuation measures. It was agreed by many that they should wait at shore-lines with whatever methods they were going to use to evacuate, until the volcano actually erupted and started to destroy the island, at which point, they would flee for the safety of the ocean. Due to his massive bulk, finding transport for Snorlax was a major concern.

Croc and several water-types agreed to give small groups of pokemon rides to the nearest habitable islands they could find. Perhaps find a way to Treasure Town in the south. Some considered making a boat or some sort of raft for Snorlax to ride in though it would have to be well-designed or it would sink.

Elisa was sure if she stayed, her Vulpix-form would be able to survive in the heat and lava. However, Rio would have to leave and _that_, she wanted to avoid. She wasn't about to explode as she had at the mere suggestion previously, but she still did not want Rio leaving if she could do anything about it.

The village meeting ended and the guild members headed back to the guild to pack things and get ready to evacuate. They would spend only one last night in the guild.

o0o

"It's really strange… Mt. Corona's never erupted like this…" Rio mumbled as they started to put things away in their bedroom and getting things ready for the evacuation.

"Really? It's _never_ erupted?" Elisa responded.

"Yeah… I think the Guildmaster was right when she said Team Long Ears might've done something in there that accidentally triggered this."

"Which means… they _are_ in trouble… right?" Elisa said hesitantly.

"Yeah… probably… if not from pokemon in there… then from all the lava."

Elisa turned back to packing things up… when a thought crossed her mind.

She knew the idea was ludicrous for anyone so inexperienced to even consider… but Elisa couldn't deny the possibility. She was sure Rio would protest but she gathered up some nerve and spoke up.

"Rio… I want to go to try and find Alex and his partner in there."

"_What?_" Rio yelped and whirled to look at her, quite incredulous.

"I know it came out of left field there… but I want to see if I can't rescue them." Elisa repeated.

"Elisa! I know you're more confident and all that now… but- but that's _suicide_! Even for a fire-type! There's a lot of pokemon in Mt. Corona that are probably plenty stronger than us!" Rio said, his tone suggesting that he thought her insane for the suggestion.

"Look… before Alex left… he told me a few things," Elisa explained calmly, "He said I needed to stand up for myself and learn to fight. Well… I've done that. But he also said he might need my help in the future. What if he needs my help _now_?"

Rio might've laughed at this in a different setting but given the circumstances, he instead had a pained look.

"Elisa… how could he _possibly_ know something like that?"

"I don't know. But all I _do_ know… is that he told me all of that. I-I'm going to trust him. Do you trust _me_?" she said.

This struck Rio. Hard. He couldn't speak for several moments and despair crossed his face for an instant. He was clearly struggling with himself.

"Elisa… please… this is crazy…" he moaned, "Mt. Corona's beyond our abilities… even _I_ know that…"

Elisa sighed. Her heart throbbed with what she was doing next but her convictions hardened her resolve.

"Fine. Evacuate with everyone else then. I'm going to talk to the guildmaster." She said and ran off, leaving Rio speechless.

o0o

"_Absolutely __**not!**_" Roserade said stiffly, giving Elisa the same look Rio had been giving her in their bedroom. Elisa had expected this response to her story from Roserade but she didn't let the reality break her resolve to go.

"Please Roserade. I know I can do this. If I have to, let me go with you and Jinx tomorrow."

"No! I _will not_ allow this!" Roserade said sharply, "I have already bent over backwards for you twice in as many days but this is the _limit_!" The Guildmaster snapped.

"I can take the heat better than either of you will be able to."

"But you have _none_ of our experience! You will not _last_ in there and you will slow us down, fire-type or not!" Roserade continued, sounding outraged more from her insistence than from her words, "I repeat: absolutely _not_! I will not allow you to risk your life so haphazardly! _That is the final word_! **Out!**"

Elisa was shooed from the chamber before she could protest any further and the door slammed behind her back.

_Well… that went well…_ she thought sarcastically.

She returned to the bedroom.

"The Guildmaster isn't allowing it?" Rio said, somewhat expectantly.

She looked up at him.

"I kinda heard the yelling. I didn't hear the specifics but the Guildmaster was pretty loud." He explained, "So are you seeing sense again?" He finished, somewhat jokingly.

Elisa didn't respond and just went back to helping pack up.

o0o

Packing was finished and all other preparations were underway with the help of the other guild members. Elisa had found any further assistance from her was unneeded so she was free to wander around the guild or village. She noticed as she headed towards the village, that Sentret and Croc had been positioned so that no one could head to the volcano so she couldn't sneak off that way.

She headed to the village and, hearing about the evac zone on a beach to the south, decided to go check out the beach.

The shore in question wasn't much to look at. There were a few sea shells here and there along with the occasional docile Shellder. The sun was going down.

Despite her instinctive fear and dislike of water... Elisa found the view to be beautiful as the sun's rays bounced off the rippling water. She sat down and just gazed at the scene, enjoying the mild heat the sun was still providing.

"Are you one of the guild members?"

Elisa jumped and looked around, startled by someone speaking to her. It wasn't someone she recognized and, upon looking, she was also confused because there wasn't anyone around.

"Over here." the speaker said and Elisa turned to look out at the ocean again. There was a pokemon arising from the water and Elisa felt that instinctive fear of water arise again. However, once she got over her initial fear, Elisa noticed that this pokemon seemed to radiate a certain serenity. This wasn't someone who would harm her.

"I normally wouldn't have revealed myself to just anyone but... something about you caught my interest. I'm not really sure what."

The pokemon was one that Elisa wasn't familar with. It was primarilly blue (not surprising if it was water-type) with a white underbelly and looked a little like some sort of Loch Ness monster. It had a grey-colored shell on its back and it's entire body was fairly sleek.

"Um... and you are?" Elisa said, feeling a little awkward from nerves (there was still a slight fear of that water).

"I am Lapras. I am merely visiting this island. And you?"

"Elisa. I _am_ a guild member." the Vulpix responded, and then chuckled quietly, finding it ironic about Lapra's timing, "Well... if you're visiting... best get it done now because the volcano could blow any day now." she said, a little resigned.

Lapras looked rather concerned for a pokemon that would be relatively safe from the eruption.

"So, I'm a little curious, what is it about me that caught your eye? I don't _think_ I'm that interesting... am I?" Elisa said.

Lapras looked at her again, thoughtful.

"You... remind me of someone. I do not know why but... I suppose that is just how it is." she sounded mildly puzzled.

"Who do I remind you of?" Elisa said, truly curious.

The water-type hesitated a moment but seemed to decide there was no harm in speaking on her thoughts and so,

"You are familar with the team that is visiting this island, correct?"

"Alex? Team Long Ears?" Elisa said, her intrigue building.

"I am a friend of theirs, though I am not on their team. I gave them transport here." Lapras explained (her concerned looks suddenly made more sense), "This is perhaps the furthest I've taken them yet and with this eruption... I cannot help feeling a little worried for their well-being."

_Wow... they certainly have connections..._

"Getting back to the question and to be honest with you Elisa... I find you remind me of Alex in a few ways." Lapras said, sounding just as puzzled as Elisa was feeling.

"I don't think I'm anything like Alex. I'm nowhere near as strong or as experienced..." Elisa said doubtfully.

"It's not that..." Lapras said, looking at her with a curious expression but shook her head, "I am not sure what it is but it probably doesn't matter. Are you here to leave the island?"

"Maybe..." Elisa said, looking away somewhat glumly, "I wanted to go to the volcano since Alex might be in trouble in there but the Guildmaster wouldn't allow it. Said I didn't have the experience... I wish I could go though..."

Lapras had an amused smile at hearing this.

"Why don't you go then?" Elisa blinked, staring at Lapras, who continued, "Alex has told me about plenty of his adventures and one of them, he wanted to prove someone wrong. They had doubted his and Eve's abilities. He returned with more than anyone might've expected from them at the time."

"I'd be breaking rules if I did _this_ though!" Elisa said, a little shocked.

"I could see from your expression that Alex means a lot to you, so why should that matter? Show them that you can do this."

Elisa felt quite nervous (and a little abashed at the transparency of her feelings) but she breathed in and out, calming and willing herself to do it. Lapras laughed gently.

"So _that_ is what I was seeing in you... that determination. Alex has never given up in all the time I've known his team. Like him... you don't _want_ to give up, do you? All you need to do, is apply that determination."

_Like Alex? Huh..._

"Alright... I can't go right now but... I'll think of something..." Elisa murmured, her mind racing to develop a plan. Lapras smiled and then turned back towards the ocean.

"I wish you luck." She said calmly and then steadily vanished back under the waves.

o0o

That night, Elisa woke herself up early.

She padded away from Rio, keeping as quiet as possible. He wasn't snoring for once so the silence made her extra wary of any noise she generated.

She snuck down the bedroom hall and arrived at the meeting area. The Guildmaster's door was slightly open and she could hear Roserade and Jiji talking inside.

_No doubt discussing their trip to Mt. Corona…_

She continued to stay as quiet as she could as she snuck by the door and went to the sentry post ladder. She climbed it to find Sentret asleep in his usual position.

She jumped at the gate-lever (again, as silently as possible) but when the gate had risen she looked up… and her heart plummeted. Sentret was awake and blocking her way back down.

"Told you I was going to be more alert." Sentret said calmly, "If I let someone open the gate on my watch again like that… well, my pride as a sentry is at stake."

"Sentret… please… let me through." She said quietly. Her heart was pounding away with nervous tension now, as she wasn't sure how to coax out Sentret's cooperation. She couldn't fight Sentret… she didn't want to hurt him (being a fellow guild member) and besides that, he would be ready for her.

"No. I heard about your discussion with the Guildmaster earlier today. I agree with her. Trying to go to Mt. Corona when you're so inexperienced? Are you _trying_ to get killed?"

"Please Sentret… I can do this…" she pleaded.

"No… I'm going to tell the Guildmaster… it's for your own good." Sentret said firmly and turned- to receive a most unexpected smack to the chest.

Sentret yelped as he was knocked rolling backwards and he came to halt in a disheveled heap against the wall, a paw-shaped bruise marking the center of the white circle on his chest. He was knocked out.

"Sorry Sentret…" Rio murmured tensely from the ladder down, his paw extended.

"Rio… you're-you-" Elisa stammered in surprise.

"I can't believe I'm doing this either…" Rio cut-in testily, "Now, come on." And he vanished down the ladder.

Elisa followed him down and they both ran out the guild entrance.

"Rio… you… you're going to help me then?" she said, somewhat slowly as they ran.

"Well, I'm not about to be called a hypocrite!" Rio snapped, sounding irritated, "Asking me if I trust you like that. After I told you I wanted to trust you a few days ago!"

Elisa's face flushed with additional heat.

"I swear though Elisa… you do this kind of thing to me again and it won't be Sentret on the receiving end of my Force Palm move next time. I thought you might try sneaking out again so I was half-awake most of the night listening for you to get up." He said, still sounding irritated, "I decided only a few minutes ago I was going to help."

"Sorry…" she said, truly regretful. She hadn't meant to guilt Rio into it with his own words like that, she had merely been trying to get his cooperation at the time and hadn't considered the past.

"Never mind about it. Let's go find Alex and Eve… and maybe my dad!" Rio said, putting on a determined face and they charged for Mt. Corona.


	19. A New Fire

_**Another short one.**_

_**Nonetheless, enjoy.**_

PMD: Life in Flames

Chapter 18: A New Blaze

It didn't really surprise Elisa when they ran into Croc still standing guard over the path leading to Mt. Corona. He appeared to be dozing but any such hope was dashed as they tried to sneak by.

"Where do you two think you're going…?" Croc said in a low growl, very much like the crocodile he was. They hadn't even gotten around to his side; they were still mostly in front of him.

"Nowhere you need to be concerned with." Elisa said reassuringly, keeping her tone light and friendly.

"Oh? Like the volcano?" Croc said tiredly as he yawned from waking up.

"What?" Elisa yelped, surprised that he had figured that out.

"You're bein' _way_ too obvious…" Croc said, giving her a dour look, "Tryin' to sneak past me and then saying I don't need to be _concerned_ with your destination? If you aren't actually headed for the volcano, I'll eat my tail."

It was apparent then, that Croc had guessed (with stunning accuracy).

"Sorry Croc but we're going to the volcano, whether you like it or not." Rio said firmly.

"Really? You think you can take _me_ on?" Croc said, a derisive snort expelling air from his nostrils as he barred their way like a wall.

Croc was without a doubt, strong and nowhere near the pushover Sentret was. Furthermore, neither Elisa nor Rio had a type-advantage this time.

Rio charged and attempted to hit Croc with Force Palm but Croc countered by spitting a fat ball of water at Rio. It splattered across the Riolu rather like hitting someone with a water balloon, knocking him to the ground and leaving him spluttering from getting drenched.

"Don't even _think_ of trying to attack me, Elisa. I _don't_ want to hurt either of you… even in the mood I'm in." Croc said, eyeing her sharply. It was clear from his tone that his mood was 'sour', likely due to the hour at which they had woken him up.

Rio got up, shaking off water and darted at Croc and punched him before swiftly skipping back. Croc winced slightly as he took the blow to his belly but didn't seem particularly hurt.

"Don't push me, Rio…" Croc growled, his tone quite threatening.

Elisa wasn't sure what to do. If she tried to attack Croc, he might use a water-type move on her and she would get hurt. But if Rio kept this up, Croc would be forced to take more extreme measures to get him to stop. Both were at risk of getting hurt if they acted and Elisa was sure Rio wasn't about to stop.

_I want to go to the volcano. Alex is likely in trouble and I want to help. He's done so much for me… I want to repay his help. I _have_ to go._

As her thoughts raced like this, her resolve hardened once more and she was determined to go. Even if they had to knock Croc to the ground to do it.

That was when Elisa started to burn.

Her entire body was flushed with heat and her body started to blaze with fire. She was actually burning, tongues of flame rising from her.

"I'm sorry about this Croc, but Alex is in trouble and he's done _far_ too much for me. I need to repay him and I am not about to let you stop me." Elisa said, not noticing her condition, and breathed in deep.

Croc turned, bracing himself to counter her flames. He got more than anyone would've expected from the little Vulpix.

Elisa yelled and expelled a mass of fire that seemed far bigger than Elisa herself.

"_Whoa!"_ Croc yelled and, knowing no amount of water he was capable of producing would tame this blaze; he instead shielded his face the best he could.

The fire hit and exploded across him in a star-shaped blast, lighting up the area for several feet. If anyone was looking, they would've easily spotted a soft flash of light from several feet away. Despite the type match-up, Croc got more than a little scorched; when the fire cleared, he was steaming (water evaporating off him from the sheer heat) and slightly blackened.

Rio grabbed the opportunity and charged, slamming the crocodile-pokemon with Force Palm, straight in the chest. Croc staggered backwards and paralysis set in, causing him to tumble over backwards onto his back just off the path.

Elisa and Rio then raced by, leaving the water-type cursing through his stiff jaws at the side of the path.

o0o

Elisa was still stunned at the force she had used as they ran.

"How much more attained skill are you hiding from me?" Rio said, a little incredulous.

"I-I didn't do _that_ on purpose. I didn't expect it to be so powerful." Elisa said, mentally reviewing what she knew to try and figure out how she had brought out such an intense blaze of fire.

_I wasn't really thinking of protecting Rio then… well, I guess I _was_ but that wasn't the main concern. I wanted to get to the volcano._

"Well, with how you were blazing, it certainly doesn't surprise me you hit Croc with such an intense blast of fire." Rio said, interrupting her thoughts.

Elisa blinked and stared.

"Huh? I was blazing?"

"Yeah, you were actually on fire. Your fire wasn't internalized anymore; it was actually blazing around you. You didn't notice?"

Elisa blinked some more…

_How'd I miss __that__?_

"You _sure_ you didn't do that on purpose?" Rio said again, skeptical.

"I meant to attack, yeah… but I didn't expect it to be so… so powerful." Elisa said, her mind racing.

"Well, any less than that and I think Croc could've countered it. That was kind of lucky." Rio said, giving her an impressed smile.

They were traveling around the perimeter of Denwood forest, which would burn yet again if the volcano erupted as expected, only this time the forest would burn to the ground. Thinking of this reminded Elisa of an issue she hadn't thought on since her arrival as a Vulpix.

_How'd I end up there to begin with? In the middle of a forest fire, no less?_

This got her thinking about what she could remember before that.

_Wait a minute… I've been on fire before… but that was in a dream, wasn't it?_

_Then why do I remember it hurting so badly? Dreams don't have that sort of pain._

The burning from that dream was certainly different from the burning she had experienced minutes ago. The former had been painful… she had wanted it to stop… to be saved from it. That was only natural, coming from a human.

This new burning though… deep down, Elisa had found it exhilarating. It filled her with energy and it was far more powerful than the little fire burning in her entire body. She couldn't have produced it herself... could she?

_Was it someone else providing me with power? Who then?_

She had no ideas and her mind wandered back to the question of how she'd ended up in a forest fire.

She recalled the words that had been spoken to her by the unseen speaker.

_I did something wrong… I've realized that and I wish now I could correct my mistake… but how'd I go from a dream in my bed to a forest fire nowhere near where I lived._

_"…it will now be the end of you."_

Those words held inspiration.

_My mistake… it was the end of me…_

_Wait… does that mean…_

She shook her head, rejecting the idea.

_That can't be… that would mean this is a dream! That's impossible! I couldn't dream if I'm _**_dead_**_!_

She couldn't think of any other explanation, yet it didn't answer her other questions either. A thoroughly dissatisfying answer.

_Argh… I'm getting nothing but dead-ends here!_

She groaned to herself and refocused on running, discarding the issue for now.

The duo soon arrived at the base of the volcano. The mountain's sheer size was clearer up close, un-obscured by trees (as it had been when they had been chased through Denwood).

Then something else crossed her mind. Elisa had expelled a vast amount of flames at Croc… and it occurred to her only now that she wasn't feeling drained. She still recalled how she had had to eat after using Overheat due to overexerting herself… and yet this attack, that had to be just as powerful, hadn't left her feeling too drained.

It wasn't like the attack hadn't taken _some_ energy out of her. She was feeling a touch cooler than usual but it hadn't rendered her cold or even chilly. She was as strong as ever.

_Someone else __must__ have given me the energy and fire to do that. I couldn't have done that myself._

Rio halted her as they started up the path.

"I think we've got a mystery dungeon ahead of us. The path up the mountain could get tricky." Rio said warningly, "You ready for this, Elisa?"

Elisa looked around for another way and didn't see one.

She breathed in and out, calming and bracing herself for what lay ahead.

"Alright… let's go." She said they started forward.

She had no way of knowing it, but her advance into the volcano would lead her to finding the truth of her new life. She wouldn't find her way home, but it was the first step towards returning home. Destiny awaited.


	20. Climbing Mt Corona

_**Enjoy.**_

PMD: Life in Flames

Chapter 19: Climbing Mt. Corona

The trip up the mountain was fairly arduous.

Fearow and Graveler were only a couple of the residents of the mountain base that got in Team Aura's way. There were also the occasional Natu (a little ball-shaped green bird with psychic abilities) and even Cranidos (a pokemon Elisa thought were supposed to be prehistoric, yet here they were, quite alive).

The number of rock-types made the trip up the mountain hard for Elisa, while many of the other types they encountered were troublesome for Rio. It was clear neither of them would've ever gotten up the mountain alone. Their teamwork was vital for making progress up the mountain without falling to the various residents that, disturbed by the eruption, were taking their frustrations out on the twosome.

Elisa was focused on just getting up the mountain for the time being. She was taking her entire objective one part at-a-time, which helped her to avoid seeing the entire goal as too big to achieve and her efforts futile. However, she still couldn't figure out how she had used so much fire against Croc earlier.

_Even when I'm focused on protecting Rio, I've never brought out that much fire._

She still had the explanation that someone else had "powered her up" in the back of her mind… however, she couldn't think of anyone who could've provided at the time. So long as she couldn't explain every detail in that case, she wouldn't accept it as the truth.

She wasn't sure if it was more or less tolerable than the question that had nagged her about Rio. With Rio, her questions about Kale had bothered her for days and she simply hadn't the nerve to ask Rio. He had answers though and she had been certain of that much.

This question though… there was no one who would know that she could ask. It seemed like the answer would only be found in herself, if anywhere. The lack of an answer or a source thereof possibly made the nagging question more annoying than the previous one.

Elisa finally discarded the issue once more to focus on the trip up the mountain.

She blasted another Fearow with intense flames (big, but no explosion like with Croc) while Rio backed her attacks with additional, direct strikes.

One Natu fired a bizarre ray of light at Elisa and she staggered as the ray gave her a very light-headed feeling and a throbbing headache. Rio got close enough that he actually jumped on the bird, biting it.

The move startled the bird and it went down fast under Rio's assault.

"You alright? Psybeam's not exactly a nice move. I can attest to that, believe me." Rio said, checking with her afterwards.

"Yeah… I'm fine…" she said, wishing her skull didn't feel like it was too small for her brain.

Elisa went digging in their treasure bag for an oran berry and in her searching, she noticed the feather she'd picked up previously from the clearing near the guild.

_Odd… it seems rather… attractive… it's not exactly the best accessory in the world…_

Elisa yanked her mind off that tangent. She could concern herself with fashion when she was human again.

_Still… why is it so clear like that? Why does it look like it's made of glass? ...And why do I feel like I've seen it somewhere besides where I found it?_

She spotted the oran berry she was searching for and discarded the errant thought to grab the berry and, eating it, move on up the mountain with Rio.

o0o

The higher reaches of the mountain featured some small streams of lava that were oozing from cracks and holes in the mountain. Rio simply hopped over the small streams. Elisa had no doubt they would rupture and start spewing more if the volcano was allowed to erupt. This area was threatening to become a serious life-hazard to any non-fire-types.

They started running into Slugma (slug-pokemon made of lava themselves) and even one or two Magcargo (snail versions of the former with shells made of lava-rock). The Slugma were virtually harmless to Elisa but the Magcargo had rock-type abilities, which forced Rio to endure any fire from them in order to get close and crack their shells. Elisa got half-buried by a rockslide attack at one point and it was a miracle she hadn't been crushed completely. She left those rock-types to Rio from that point onwards.

They ran into various other small fire-types as they went but the team managed to press their way through the opposing force of pokemon and continued up the mountain.

o0o

They encountered a problem when they arrived at the end of the mystery dungeon.

"Whoa… _that's_ one big river of lava…" Rio said.

"River" was definitely the right word for what they were looking at. It was flowing gently but the massive current of lava streaming down from Corona's peak barred the way (the river went down the mountain towards the ocean below) and Rio wasn't going to be able to jump the river… not even with a running start. It had to be at least 10 feet wide.

Elisa stepped into the flow, which was covered in a layer of black, hardened rock that moved as the lava flowed and she walked across, testing the depth of the lava. She could've best described the walk as a little like walking across Jell-O. Her feet didn't sink into the lava until she put her full weight on it and then the rock shell over the lava would flow around her ankle. She walked all the way across, with the lava never going far above her ankles. It never even came near her belly. The flow clearly was extremely shallow.

"Okay…" she murmured and walked back over to Rio, "I think I have an idea. Though we both might feel a little awkward doing it…"

Rio blinked, clearly curious what she meant. Elisa turned so her side was displayed to Rio.

"I think I can probably carry you across. I'm pretty confident I can handle your weight."

Rio immediately understood what she had meant by "feeling a little awkward" a moment ago.

"Um… maybe I could just find another way around?" he suggested, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

He wouldn't dare mention it to Elisa, but his heart had started pounding at that moment. Of course, he was also a little afraid of falling off and under these circumstances, he didn't want to think of the consequences.

"Oh c'mon Rio, it's not like I'm going to burn you or anything. Just hold on and I'm sure you can keep yourself from falling off. This way will be faster anyhow." Elisa said, not realizing just how awkward Rio was feeling about this.

Elisa _was_ confident she could take the weight. It was just ten feet (give or take) of very shallow lava. If she hurried across, Rio wouldn't even have to suffer the heat rising off the lava for long. How hard could it be?

"Alright…" Rio said still uneasy and approached her. He stood there a moment, trying to get over his awkward feelings and then finally swung one leg over Elisa and spread himself over her back. It helped that Elisa was a bit bigger than the average for a Vulpix (not that she knew that). He also admittedly found her comfortable, as her fur was quite soft, though hot. Still, Rio had a bit of a challenge in keeping himself on top of her. He wouldn't need to lean far to start tipping off her side.

Elisa found her partner was fairly heavy, but she didn't complain, reasoning any grown creature would be. And she could tell from looking that as long as he was on top of her, he wouldn't come in contact with the lava. She was sure she could go about 10 feet through lava with him on top of her (though she certainly wouldn't last giving him a ride everywhere).

Convincing herself it was just like giving a piggyback ride, she let Rio get into a firm position before asking "Ready?" and bracing herself for the sprint ahead of her.

Rio sucked in a breath as he flipped their treasure bag over his back so the straps were across his back, making it unlikely for the bag or any of its contents to spill into the lava unless he fell in himself. He tried not to think about that happening.

"Go." He said tensely.

Elisa ran into the lava flow.

Immediately, their combined weight made Elisa actually sink deeper into the lava than she had on her solo test-trip.

_Oh crap... I was too light. I must have only sunk in a little. The rock on the top of the lava probably just supported my weight alone better._

Whereas previously, she had walked across the river of lava, it was now more like she was _wading_ (the lava barely brushing her belly) and Rio nervously drew his legs up so he was more on top on her. He had no desire to feel the lava itself, the heat alone being enough to start baking him.

Elisa still pressed forward, using all her strength to move forward with as much speed as she could muster.

They were a little beyond halfway when she noticed Rio's labored breathing in her ears.

_I need to hurry or Rio's going to die in this heat… and my own heat's probably not helping._

She pushed herself harder, the effort tiring her out quickly.

She had a few blistering feet left of lava before bare, solid, (and most importantly) cool ground.

Then Rio almost slipped off of her.

He was fainting in the heat and he only barely managed to snap himself out of the faint to firmly grip Elisa's fur and hang on. Elisa froze, as she had no way of stopping Rio from falling off if he did. It hurt a little as Rio was pulling on her fur but she endured this pain as the alternative would've been ugly indeed.

"H-hurry…" he gasped once he had righted himself as much as his remaining strength allowed. He felt positively weak as the heat continued sapping what was left in him.

Elisa grit her teeth and pushed forward with all the strength she could muster. After what seemed like several minutes of trudging through more molten rock, she finally stepped out onto the rock path and Rio automatically slid off onto the bare ground, breathing faintly. There was a cooler breeze blowing some distance from the lava, which must have been a relief to Rio.

"Are you okay, Rio?" Elisa panted. Her entire body was sore from the exertion of the walk and hefting Rio the whole way. Her back was mildly stinging as Rio had been sweating profusely in the heat, her body protesting against the moisture.

Then she noticed that Rio was not "okay".

Though he hadn't ever made direct contact with the lava, the proximity and duration of the exposure had left him with several severe burns up and down the front of his body (some likely helped along by Elisa's own body heat). And obviously, he was quite weak from the temperatures draining his strength. Had he spent much longer over the lava, he would've been baked dry.

Elisa dug in the treasure bag and fetched an oran berry, which she fed to Rio and then also hunted down a rawst berry for him, remembering the blue, shrived, strawberry-like berries in the bag, which she also gave him to as he sat up, his strength returning.

"Elisa…" he panted after swallowing the second berry, "Never… suggest that… again. _Please._"

"Sorry…" Elisa said… she knew she was at fault for suggesting the idea.

"Next time, I'll take the long way around." Rio said. His arms and legs were still trembling, as he could hardly believe that he had survived that trip.

Elisa made herself look quite ashamed of herself (which she was). Once he wasn't shaking any more though, Rio set a paw on her neck and patted her.

"Thanks for the ride though, Elisa… I think we've saved some time…" Rio said, giving her a tired, but sincere smile.

Elisa breathed a sigh of relief that they had both made it safely across and they took a minute to rest there. Elisa even dove back into the lava flow and laid down in it, letting the hot rock flow around her, the heat restoring her.

The sun was starting to rise, though the light was slightly obscured by the volcanic ash and smoke in the air. There was also a column of steam rising from the ocean where the lava flow was heading, adding to the clouds in the sky.

_Morning… if she hasn't already headed out to search for us, Roserade's going to be starting towards the mountain soon._

Elisa glanced around at the river of molten rock and back the way they had come.

_This will probably slow her down a bit so she won't catch up to us _too_ soon but still… we need to move on._

"Alright. You ready to go again, Rio?" Elisa called, getting up and shaking hot rock off her fur.

Rio, who had been napping for those few minutes against a rock, woke up and was ready to go again in seconds.

"Ready. Let's get in there and find Alex." He said confidently.


	21. Aura, Revisited

PDM: Life in Flames

Chapter 20: Aura, Revisited

Elisa and Rio's journey up Mt. Corona continued.

Their concerns rose when there was a tremor. Looking around, they were the only pokemon in the area, so no one else could have triggered any sort of quake.

"That must have been the mountain then…" Elisa said, a slight amount of dread arising in her mind. She knew she had nothing to worry about for herself (she was fire-proof, after all), however she hadn't forgotten she was originally human and stemming from that was a certain terror on the prospect of witnessing a volcanic eruption.

The main source of her dread though, was from concern for Alex, Eve, and Rio. All three might be killed by the eruption if they didn't find some way to either stop it or get them away from the volcano.

There was little chance of any of them getting away from an eruption at this point. The tremor indicated the mountain was only getting closer to the time of eruption.

"C'mon then, let's hurry up." Rio said briskly and they broke into a run. They were already tired and exhausted from the trip but Elisa pushed herself to keep up and Rio, though winded, ran for all he was worth.

It wasn't long before they came to a cave; an entrance directly into the volcano. Surprisingly, there actually wasn't that much heat coming from the cave.

"Maybe it's not _that_ close to eruption then?" Rio suggested hopefully.

"Well, let's get in there. There hasn't really been another path since we started up Mt. Corona so Team Long Ears must have gone in here." Elisa said and charged on in, Rio following.

Elisa stopped when they found the cave to be rather dark deeper in.

"I can't see anything…" Rio said, then he recalled something,

"Hey, Elisa why don't you do what you were doing the other night in the forest? With your tails?"

Elisa had forgotten about that and it took her a moment to figure out what he was talking about but then she remembered and glanced back at where her tails would be. She focused her thoughts on light and thought about having a torch of any sort.

Soon, her tails were glowing with a gentle firelight.

"Man… that's so cool…" Rio mumbled as his eyes adjusted to the light. He reached out and touched one of her tails, feeling the fur. An unwise action as it turned out.

"Ouch, hot!" he yelped and swiftly withdrew the paw, waving it about. The slight smell of burnt skin was tangible.

"Whoops! Sorry!" Elisa said quickly.

"No… it's my fault…" Rio said, looking at his paw, "I guess there's fire in your fur generating that light or something. At any rate, they're burning hot." His paw was slightly burnt but otherwise fine. It wasn't so severe that he needed a berry for it.

They proceeded forward, Elisa's tails shedding light as they proceeded.

After a minute of navigating the darkened cave, they emerged into a cave full of magma. The chamber was lit by the glowing, molten rock. There was solid rock ground, with what seemed like a lake of magma below, waiting to incinerate any non-fire-type that fell off the path.

"Whoa…" Rio gasped, looking around.

Elisa stepped out into the open space and looked around. She immediately felt the massive shift in temperature upon stepping into the cave. The magma was super-heating the room, the air rippling with heat.

"Rio… stay back… I think you'd best stay there until I can spot a quick way through here." Elisa said, unwilling to risk Rio's life again in extreme temperatures unless she had to. She couldn't be sure how far he'd have to go through the heat and if he collapsed partway, she had no guarantee that she would be able to drag him to cooler safety. Passing out in this heat would be fatal to him, so he would have to hurry from one cool area to the next.

Rio took a seat on the rock floor and gestured for her to go ahead.

Elisa stepped forward and looked around at she went deeper into the cavern. Looking up, she saw a crack in the ceiling that likely went outside, which explained why the passage they had entered through wasn't just as hot. The heat in the room escaped out that way (though apparently not fast enough to make things cool).

A Magmar (a humanoid pokemon that looked like it was made of fire) stepped out and confronted her. A natural instinct seemed to tell Elisa that it was competing for territory with her. It thought she was another volcano resident and wanted to claim the area for itself.

_I wonder how much more I'm going to start feeling like a Vulpix... or a pokemon at any rate?_ Elisa privately wondered and charged at the Magmar, smacking it.

It countered with a flame-covered punch but this only fueled Elisa's own fire-reserves (the punch itself was virtually harmless) and she retaliated with a fierce blast of flames. Again, the fire was not any bigger than normal for her; in fact, it might've been smaller. Nonetheless, the Magmar experienced some mild pain from the attack, as it evidently didn't have the flame-absorbing ability Elisa did.

It quickly started to realize its disadvantage (as it knew little else but fire-type moves) and it backed down. Elisa smirked and yelled "**Scram!**" prompting the hapless Magmar to retreat.

Her opponent cowed and gone, she glanced around some more. She looked at where Rio was waiting and then looked to the right and saw another passage. She walked over that way and felt the air cool as she got away from the lava.

She headed back and looked around for other passages to consider. There was a hole in one wall where someone might've gone, however it looked as if any bridge across had since collapsed (due to the volcanic activity). Seeing no other paths, she headed back to Rio.

"Alright… I think I found a way. You're going to need to run, just to be safe."

Rio got up, took a moment to stretch, readying himself for the sprint ahead and, once he was ready, Elisa quickly led the way to the path onwards.

Rio arrived at the cooler area. The trip had been short and quick. The air was warm there, but tolerable for him.

The two of them proceeded deeper into the volcano in this fashion: Elisa scouted out the area ahead (occasionally driving off local pokemon) and she would spot a way forward (or two) and then return to Rio. If there was more than one path possible to traverse, they'd discuss briefly which way to go and then they'd make a quick sprint for the next "safe-zone" in the cave.

Rio stumbled partway during one sprint, as a tremor shook the entire volcano and he nearly fell down as the quake disrupted his balance. However, Elisa caught him and he quickly used her to push himself upright again and resume his run.

They ran into a Camerupt wandering the safe zone and they quickly realized it had been the cause of the tremor this time. Elisa had been just out of range from its earth-shaking attack.

Rio quickly slapped it with Force Palm and Elisa smacked it. One of the humps on the camel's back exploded, sending conflagrations of magma flying in all directions. This only heated Elisa up but Rio screamed as the hot wave washed over him.

"_Leave us alone_!" Elisa roared and spat a ball of fire at it. This was enough to take down the Camerupt and it fell over.

"You okay Rio?" Elisa said quickly turning her attention to him.

"I'm alright…" Rio groaned, nursing a blackened segment of skin across his belly.

"You are _not_ alright." Elisa said through her teeth and pulled out another oran-rawst berry pair for him, "Stop trying to be such a hero, sheesh!"

"I… I just don't want you worrying so much about me…" Rio said, "That's part of the reason your aura was black, wasn't it…?"

Elisa couldn't deny that. She had been worried about Rio then… but for entirely different reasons.

"We're **partners**." She responded tersely, "That means we _support_ each other. So even if I have to _baby_ you, I'm going to do it." Elisa said, making herself sound as bull-headed as possible.

Rio laughed but accepted the berries from her and didn't argue any further.

"Hey Rio…" Elisa said after he had eaten the berries, "What color's my aura now? It's not black, right?" she said this somewhat shyly.

Rio paused and then rubbed the back of his head a little like he was embarassed.

"Actually… I haven't seen it since. Your aura isn't always visible. Not like my dad's. So, I really don't know." He admitted, "But I _hope_ it's normal now. I think someone like you really doesn't deserve to have that sort of pain."

"Oh…"

She was a little disappointed to not know her color. However, it was nice to hear Rio's words of encouragement.

o0o

After perhaps an hour of travelling deeper into the volcano, they came across something.

Elisa thanked their luck that they saw the thing from a high-ledge, where they looked down at it.

It was evidently a pokemon… but nothing like any Elisa had ever seen.

The pokemon in question was clearly massive, walked on four legs, and most of it looked like it was actually _made_ of lava or magma. If it had had twice as many feet, it might've resembled a spider. Its feet and head seemed be made of metal. Its head was rather skull-like and the pokemon seemed to radiate so much heat, Elisa might as well have been a candle in comparison.

"Wow…" Elisa gasped softly, "Who is that?"

"I've… I've never seen a pokemon like that… I don't know who or what that is…" Rio said, his voice quiet and awed. They both had no desire to be spotted by the pokemon below.

At present, the pokemon seemed to be in state of utter outrage as it was stomping about, roaring, and yelling obscenities throughout the cave. Its voice was too loud and too mangled (it half-sounded like it was gargling or something) for Elisa to place as male or female. It soon vanished from sight as it stomped off into another part of the volcano. The uproar it was making seemed to shake the whole volcano as it went.

They hadn't seen any sign of Team Long Ears on the way down but this was something they hadn't expected to see.

"We'd better find them quick and get out of here…"

Rio was still staring as if the pokemon was still there.

"What's wrong?" Elisa said, concerned.

"That thing… it's_ really_ mad…" Rio said, blinking… "I know a little about how aura works. It generally flares when the owner's angry… well, that thing was blazing in more ways than one."

"Whoa…" Elisa blinked, slightly stunned, "I wonder what's got _its _shorts in a knot?"

Rio raised an eyebrow at the figure of speech but Elisa ignored this and decided to shrug off the question.

"C'mon, before it comes back and notices us or something." She said and led him onwards.


	22. Rescue

_**Sorry if that last chapter was a bit dull. I've got some exposition to do in the next chapter.**_

PMD: Life in Flames

Chapter 21: Rescue

Elisa and Rio did not come across the giant pokemon again during their search. They could hear it rampaging about the caves of the volcano though, no matter where they were.

Other volcano residents left them alone now, if only because of a fear of encountering the monstrous pokemon. No one wanted to be out in the open.

Elisa wouldn't have really blamed anyone for wanting to avoid an encounter with that.

_I just hope Alex and Eve are okay. I hope they didn't run into it in this mood._

o0o

After an hour or more of searching, they finally came across something of interest.

They stepped into a very large room that was rather like a temple. The rock walls had intricate (if worn) designs. The magma flowed around the edges in an organized set of streams that went around the sides of the chamber, disappearing down tunnels on either side of the entrance. Despite the magma, the room was only moderately warm and quite tolerable for Rio.

In the center of the room, was a wide, round stump of rock that looked much like some sort of pedestal. They didn't see Alex and Eve anywhere.

"What's with _this_?" Elisa muttered to herself, approaching the pedestal. The rock was very plain on top and had nothing that Elisa could see. Closer inspection revealed little, except that it looked like something might've been on the pedestal previously. There was a small indentation in the approximate center of the stump. Whatever had been there was obviously gone now.

"Dunno… it looks like _some_thing was kept here. The room's just too… organized…" Rio said, unable to think of a better word.

It was a rather apt term as the volcano's passages and pathways before hadn't been nearly so neat looking. This looked like a room someone had purposely carved out of the rock like the guild.

Elisa wandered the chamber, looking around more and she spotted something on the ceiling that looked odd. She wasn't sure how to describe it…

"Hey Rio… what do you make of this?" she called him over.

In the back of the chamber, on the ceiling… was what looked like an unusually large stalactite. It was too big and jagged to have formed naturally and its shape certainly was too unusual to have formed in the standard fashion a stalactite would've formed.

"Looks… like… it was some sort of egg?" Rio suggested. He was clearly unsure.

Elisa felt rather unsettled thinking that there might've been an egg up there. If there had been, it was one _big_ egg.

_It doesn't look like there was an egg though… rather like something might've been encased in rock up there. Maybe it broke out?_

Her musings were interrupted when there was a loud roar. They knew what that was.

The noise was coming from the way they had come.

"Uh-oh…" Rio murmured and backed away from the way out. They were trapped if someone was coming in.

With the rapid crash of giant, stomping footsteps, the pokemon they had seen previously came charging into the room.

"_**Thieves**_**! You return to the scene of the crime, do you? I will reclaim what is mine! **_**Now!**_" It roared. Elisa was momentarily stunned from the coherent speech (she hadn't thought it was composed enough to speak like that). A corner of her mind noted that its voice had a roughly masculine edge (though it was still quite mangled) so the thing was likely male.

However, her mind was mostly concerned with the fact that they were dealing with an enraged giant of a pokemon that seemed to think they had stolen something from it.

"We didn't steal-!" she started but Rio had to shove her to get her moving and they both ran out of the way as the furious pokemon charged forward across the room, exuding an intense wave of sheer heat and fire. It was amazing how something so massive could move so fast.

It smashed directly into the wall that had been behind them and rounded on them, clearly unharmed by the impact and roared again in a feral manner.

"I don't think he's going to listen if you try talking Elisa…" Rio said tensely.

Elisa was just realizing this herself and, since she severely doubted they could challenge this thing, they only really had one option: run.

She turned and took off down the tunnel, Rio following her. The shaking ground made it only too clear the monster behind them was giving pursuit.

o0o

It amazed Elisa that they managed to keep ahead of their pursuer. Afterwards, she would consider the fact that the encounter had filled her with adrenaline and she had run faster than she ever had before.

It didn't matter to Rio now whether the chambers were hot or cool, he just rushed on through wherever they ran.

At one point, they were slowing from exhaustion and the monstrosity was going to catch up when Elisa heard a familiar voice.

"Hey! Over here! Hurry!"

Elisa looked up and saw a Raichu standing in the entrance of a tunnel set high up in one of the walls. It had to be Alex.

Elisa immediately turned and ran for him. Rio saw where she was going and, quickly realizing who it was, he also turned and ran for Alex.

Alex got down on his stomach as they came and reached down to grab their paws. Being that he was over their heads, they'd need to jump for him.

Elisa slowed to let Rio go first. The Riolu leapt as high as he could and reached up to grab Alex's hand but it was a near-miss and he smacked into the rock wall below, tumbling back down to the ground below.

"C'mon! Try again! You can make it!" Alex yelled down over the noise that was the monster behind Elisa and Rio.

Elisa glanced back at the thing, which had just emerged from the tunnel they had come out of and was wildly searching the chamber for them. It hadn't spotted them yet but it was only a matter of seconds before it did and charged at them.

As Rio backed up for another running jump at the ledge over them, Elisa ran up and positioned herself in front of the ledge.

"Use me for leverage! I'll follow you afterwards!" Elisa yelled to Rio.

Rio looked a little hesitant to leave her on the same ground as the thing behind them but he charged and Elisa ducked her head out of the way.

Rio hopped up, landing on Elisa's back and jumped off of her with all the strength he could muster. Elisa had tensed up and it took much of her own strength to keep herself from being shoved down to the ground by the jump's downward-push.

Rio reached up, and Alex caught his paw.

With immense effort, he pulled the Riolu up and Rio was soon at Alex's side in the tunnel entrance.

"C'mon!" Alex yelled and reached down again.

Elisa could already tell though, she wouldn't be able to jump nearly high enough to get to him. Not by herself. Rio was bi-pedal so he could reach up higher. Elisa, being on all fours, didn't have that height advantage.

Then there was an enraged roar and the ground shook as the beast behind her had seen them and was now determined that she, at least would not escape.

Aware of how trapped she was, she turned and faced her quarry.

It was intimidating, to say the least, having something so massive charging at her like the world's biggest bull.

Alex backed up, taking Rio with him to be safe.

"Me and Rio didn't steal _anything_!" Elisa yelled at it, spitting a fireball at it to try and get it to stop. Her words fell on deaf ears as before, and the thing apparently had fire-absorbing abilities as well. Seeing this, she dove out of the way. It smashed into the wall head-first with the force of a train and the entire volcano seemed to shake. After a few seconds, it disengaged its head from the wall, leaving a sizeable crater and turned to glower at her, the skull-like face unscratched from the impact.

The pokemon was too big to fit in the tunnel just over its head so Rio and Alex were certainly safe from any manner of attack the monster made. However, Elisa wasn't safe at all. This thing certainly could use fire if it wanted to, but that was obviously far from the only weapon it had.

It stomped forward and Elisa ran around it, evading as it swiped with one massive foot, attempting to rend her with the giant, metal claws on its foot.

Elisa ran at the tunnel set in the wall and jumped. However, as she had expected, she fell far short of the needed height to reach. Even if Alex had been there, reaching for her, she would never have made it.

"**Give up! You're trapped and you cannot escape!**" The pokemon roared, turning on her as she landed on the ground again.

She knew if she surrendered, this thing might just eat her or something. She certainly wouldn't be allowed to live, given how enraged it was.

Then she had an idea. It was a bit crazy but she had already gone to this volcano, which everyone else had considered suicidal.

_What's another suicidal act on my resume? _Elisa thought sarcastically.

"I wouldn't be so sure!" She retorted aloud and posed herself as if ready to fight. Her opponent huffed and bowed his head as he charged at her, intending to squash her between his metallic head and the unforgiving rock. She couldn't evade the attack this time; she didn't have the space or the agility to do it.

So instead, thinking of her fight with Golbat on her first day with the guild, she crouched low and at the last second, she leapt directly at the charging pokemon's head.

She landed on his face but he didn't stop, knowing he only needed to ram the wall to smash her. However, before he reached the wall, Elisa bunched up in that instant on his face and bounded off of it, leaping for the ledge. Everything seemed to slow down as she kicked off and prayed she would make it...

Her chest slammed into the rock and her front paws flopped over the ledge. She was hanging on the edge of the tunnel. There was a loud crunch that shook the chamber again as her opponent's head made another crater in the wall.

She started to slip off and scraped desperately for ground, trying to climb up but the rock was too smooth and her hind legs couldn't find purchase in the wall to give her leverage.

She screamed in distress. If she fell now, she would be at the giant pokemon's mercy.

Alex and Rio both lunged forward, each seizing one of her front legs, and quickly dragged her in. All three immediately scrambled deeper into the tunnel away from the edge, breathing hard as they heard a deafening, snarling roar of fury from the pokemon outside. Mixed into the roar were various obscenities that conveyed just how angry it was.

They almost relaxed right there but a ball of fire flew up from outside and hit the ceiling. They hastily scrambled back, retreating into the tunnel before it could collapse on them.

"Who is that? And why does he think we stole something from him?" Elisa panted desperately.

"_That_… was Heatran," Alex said, a guilty edge in his voice, "and I'm afraid Eve and I… we touched something that we shouldn't have been messing with. It's a bit of a long story so lets get back to Eve first and then I'll fill you in on what happened. Then you can explain to me, why the heck you came here."


	23. A Trick and a Mistake

_**I'm a little worried about an OOC moment but I think I kept everyone in-line here.**_

_**All the same, pay attention and please let me know if I could improve this.**_

_**Enjoy.**_

PMD: Life in Flames

Chapter 22: A Trick and a Mistake

Eve was lying down in a small, simple chamber. Ice was forming on the ground around her and Elisa could feel the coolness of the chamber was coming from the Glaceon. If she hadn't been keeping the room cool, it would've felt at least warm, but as it was, Rio breathed a relaxed sighed and seemed quite comfortable in the coolness. Elisa's body seemed to not like the cool-down though and she felt a slight drain on her energy.

Eve was suitably surprised to see Team Aura.

"What are you two doing here?" she said, staring in some amazement.

"Um…" Rio started.

"We'll get to that in just a minute," Alex cut-in, "first though, I think we ought to explain why an angry Heatran was harassing these two when they aren't at fault for anything."

Eve looked away, a bit glum. She looked like she was guilty of something...

"As both of you know," Alex explained, sitting down, "Eve and I headed here to find out any secrets we could. We thought we might find something here." He mumbled something else under his breath but Elisa couldn't hear and he pressed on before she could ask.

"Things were going about as usual for an exploration can go. Fighting off the locals, making our way deeper… and then we came to Heatran's chamber."

"His chamber? That wasn't-?" Elisa started.

"Little round stand of rock in the center? Stalactite in the back?" Alex asked.

"Um… yeah… that's the room… Heatran found us in…" Elisa was a little stunned that Alex knew precisely where she had been.

"Yeah… that's his chamber in this volcano. That stalactite… I'm thinking that was where he was sleeping. I didn't actually see him drop off of it but I couldn't see where else he could've come from." Alex said shaking his head.

"What happened?" Rio asked.

"We didn't consider our actions before we did them." Alex said simply and looked at Eve. She sighed, somewhat resigned and pulled out their team treasure bag, which she reached into and rolled out

"A rock?" Elisa raised an eyebrow, "What's so special about it?"

The rock that had rolled out of the bag was very round… abnormally so and it was rather clearly a lava rock. Despite being so close to Eve, the cracks seemed to still hold lava that was gently glowing red and radiating faint heat.

"I'm kind of curious myself." Alex admitted, "But that was on the little pedestal of rock in Heatran's chamber."

"So Heatran got after you when you…?" Rio said, trailing off.

"If he had, I would've put it back right then." Alex said bluntly, "He didn't wake up… not immediately. It was Eve who took the stone in the first place so I couldn't have seen the danger coming."

"So he woke up later?" Elisa said, putting together what had happened, "And came after you _then_?"

"More or less…" Alex said, "I've dealt with legendary pokemon like him before but Eve couldn't really help me with him, given the type match-up, so I was alone on the fight. That was too much for me." Alex said, sounding somewhat ashamed. Elisa hadn't been paying attention, but looking closer, Alex seemed to have several scars that were clearly from severe burns all over his body.

"Why didn't you just put it back?" Elisa asked. It seemed obvious enough.

"I've tried." Alex said simply, shrugging, "Heatran kept on intercepting me though and he wouldn't listen. I couldn't get back to his chamber and I couldn't get him to calm down so I could get by and return the rock."

"We've been stuck in the volcano ever since." Eve said, "We're lucky we found this hideaway here. Heatran can't get in here but he's been working up the volcano, trying to make the magma flood this chamber to get us out in the open... or kill us. It probably won't be too long before he gets the magma in here."

"Well… that explains why the volcano's erupting outside…" Elisa sighed.

"The volcano's erupting outside?" Alex asked. Elisa and Rio just nodded. Alex scratched his head, looking thoughtful.

"I don't know everything about Heatran… but it's probably because he's so worked up like this that the volcano is also acting up as it is. I guess it's sort of our fault the volcano's erupting." Alex said, sounding sorry.

"So let me get this straight…" Elisa said mentally going over the explanation as she spoke, "You came in here… found this rock in Heatran's chamber… picked it up…"

"It's so round… and that pedestal it was on made it look important… so I was curious." Eve explained, sounding a little sullen over admitting what she had done.

"Okay… so you picked up the rock," Elisa continued, resuming her train of thought, then came across something that got her curiosity.

"Wait a minute… Alex, you said you couldn't have seen the danger? What do you mean by that?"

Alex sighed, closing his eyes as if he had heard this question several times already and was tired of it.

"I have… a certain ability…" he said hesitantly, "I really don't think it's that important that you know-"

"Alex. Why don't you just tell them?" Eve interrupted, "Honestly, I think it's a good ability and nothing to keep secret. Certainly not now."

Alex sighed again… he evidently didn't want to explain but his partner insisted and he gave in.

"Alright… it's call the Dimensional Scream. I don't know all the details to be honest… but every now and then, when I touch something… I… get visions…" he said, sounding as if he expected to be declared insane for saying so, "I've had it as long as I can remember and even before then... but I don't know where I got it."

Rio stared, clearly surprised by this news.

"So… Eve took that rock, thus you couldn't foresee Heatran… and you started leave?" Elisa continued on once she had absorbed this new information.

"We did a little more searching around but didn't find anything in there. But yeah… we started to head out of the volcano. We didn't really realize then that we had _stolen_ something... we thought we had just discovered it. We've found treasure chests in other places and we haven't gotten in trouble from _those_ so it didn't occur to us that someone like Heatran would get after us." Alex explained.

"So sometime along the way, Heatran chased you down…" Elisa finished.

"The path we originally took here had crumbled because of the volcano's activity. We tried retracing our steps and well… we had a dead-end." Alex said, "Heatran almost cornered us once. He was roaring about thieves then so I guessed about our… error. We managed to find this tunnel after a while of running from him and I boosted Eve up, like what Elisa did for Rio, then I managed to jump up and Eve helped me make the rest of the way up. We've been hiding in here since. He probably thought you were accomplices in our thieft when he found you. I heard the racket he was making and went to see what had gotten him riled up and... well, I saw you two clearly running from him."

"Me and Elisa came in here to try and find you. Try to rescue you from the volcano's eruption." Rio chipped in, "Well… actually, she went… I kinda came along at the last second." He said hesitantly.

"By yourselves?" Alex blinked, "I guess you've both really developed… though I'm surprised Roserade let you come all this way."

"She didn't. She didn't want me risking my life going here." Elisa said bluntly. Alex was stunned for a moment and then burst out laughing.

"You snuck out then!" he laughed loudly. Elisa just put on a stubborn face and nodded.

"Well, you've got nerve. _That's_ for sure." Alex said, subduing his laughter.

"Anyways, I felt I owed you so I wanted to help." Elisa explained, "But I guess we're both kind of stuck now."

"Maybe not… now that we have some back up… maybe we can get Heatran to calm down by working together to defeat him." Alex said, standing up now, as if ready to go fight Heatran immediately.

"Uhhh…" Elisa felt a sharp pang of fear arise in her chest at this suggestion.

Fighting Golbat and facing down Team Gangster were fine enough by her, so long as she had back-up (like Rio or Alex) to help… but Heatran was certainly one of those legendary pokemon that Elisa had only heard tales about. What confidence had been left in her started to bottom out. She didn't want to try confronting something so massive and violent. She could easily get killed in the attempt.

"Elisa… it's not as hard as you're probably thinking it is." Eve spoke up, much to Elisa's surprise (it was usually Alex who was giving her encouragement). Eve had a rather understanding smile as she looked at Elisa's discouraged expression.

"Believe me… I've wanted to run away when we confronted a legendary pokemon too. But we managed to overcome the odds and I stood up to my own fears." Eve continued.

"I believe you told me that part of it was because of me." Alex pointed out. Eve chuckled and just smiled.

"But… but both of you are so strong…" Elisa pointed out.

"We weren't always y'know…" Alex said, amusement in his tones, "We _did_ start off similar to the two of you: just another exploration team. A couple of inexperienced pokemon that were just as scared as anyone else. The difference though, is that we confronted those fears and pushed onwards. Just like you have to come here and find us."

"Well… it's not like I have anything to be afraid of with a volcano… it's fire afterall…" Elisa said shrugging off his point.

Alex groaned, shaking his head.

"Maybe you _haven't_ developed as much as I thought…" he said, in a lamenting tone.

"What?" Elisa said, looking up, "What are you talking about?" Elisa snapped.

_I have** too** developed! I've gotten better at fighting!_

"I thought you had put aside that fearful side and had come all this way, conquering your fears but no… apparently not… you just ran here to try and get us out as fast as possible."

"Now wait just a minute-!" Elisa started. Eve looked shocked at Alex's rather blunt and careless words.

"Well, I guess we won't be getting out of here then…" Alex said, almost forlornly.

"Wait a minute!" Elisa yelled again, annoyance fueling her temper, "I didn't come all this way, terrified of whatever we ran across!"

"Oh? So you just ran from the stronger opponents then? Which had to be many of the pokemon in and around this mountain." Alex continued blithely.

"Um, Elisa-" Rio started.

"_I didn't run from anyone!_" Elisa roared, fire flaring from her mouth, mindless of Rio's attempts to calm her down, "and if you think I haven't developed, you'd better think again!" she yelled indigantly and charged at Alex, determined to show that she _could_ fight.

Eve looked like she wanted to jump up and stop her but she seemed to be frozen from shock, and Rio wasn't about to try and stop someone who could easily give him a serious burn.

Elisa came within about a foot from him and then she was swept aside by the yellow spike that came at her from the side. It felt like a thick club had hit her. She skidded and tumbled to the side but she got up, ignoring the pain in her entire left side and turned to the Raichu again.

She inhaled and fired a ball of flames at him. He raised an arm, shielding his face from the blast as it broke across him. Elisa ran forward again, intending to strike while he was recovering from the previous attack, but her fur stood on end when an electrical charge jolted through her. She staggered back as the sudden shock had taken her by surprise and it had left her entire body feeling mildly sore and tingling.

"I guess I was wrong…" Alex said, in a tone that sounded like he was shrugging.

_Errrgh… I **have** developed and I'm **not** **afraid!** Not of him! **Not of anything!**_

The bravery behind Elisa's words was more out of anger and the determination to prove herself, stemming from that anger. However, this didn't detract from her next action:

She shook off the electrical shock and inhaled deep, before exhaling violently, attempting to blast Alex with an intense current of flames. It was comparable to what had hit Croc.

The flames exploded against the wall. Then Alex's loud friendly laugh came from Elisa's right.

"Yep… I was wrong." He laughed, "You've improved _more_ than I thought!" he then continued to laugh.

Elisa's anger evaporated as it was replaced by complete confusion.

"What? Wha-?"

"It doesn't take too much to get your determination stoked, does it?" Alex said, subduing his laughter down so he was shaking slightly as he spoke.

"You could've done that in a less insulting way, Alex…" Eve sighed in disapproval, giving him a withering look.

"I wanted to see for myself if she could fight." Alex said, "But all the same… sorry I tricked you like that." He said, rubbing Elisa's head. His words were quite sincere.

Elisa was half-tempted to give him a burn while he was touching her, out of sheer irritation (and some spite) but she thought better of it and settled for giving him a baleful glower.

"I was easy on you this time… but if you get _that_ good at fighting, I wouldn't mind a fun little tussle with you." Alex said, giving her his familiar grin.

She returned it with her own smirk and prodded him in the belly with her paw.

"Sure." She responded as he looked little surprised at the poke, "I'll be sure to turn you to a rat-roast then." She joked and took her turn to laugh.

Alex snorted, smirking at the fighting words.

"Anyways, I made my point: you're a lot braver than you, yourself seem to think you are. And you've really gotten better with your fire."

"She did that with Croc earlier." Rio suddenly pitched-in.

Elisa blinked and looked at him.

"You were on fire again, Elisa. You didn't notice?" Rio pointed out. Elisa blinked, stunned.

"I saw what was coming… without any visions." Alex said firmly, "You _were_ blazing as Rio has said. That's why I evaded your attack."

_Okay… that's the _second_ time I've done that…_ Elisa thought, amazed with herself now. _So how am I doing it?_

"I think if you've gotten that good at fighting, we might be able to stand up to Heatran." Alex said confidently, "Your fire may not be any use but so long as that determination is there… we can do it."

Elisa breathed in and out, calming herself as she contemplated the task before them. Maybe she could figure out how she brought out the greater flames like that if she fought Heatran...

"Alright," she finally said, "so what's the plan?"


	24. Showdown in the Volcano

_**I've been getting into an RP so my usual publishing speed might take a dip here. I'll still try to find time to type up chapters though.**_

_**Don't worry: I'm not the type to leave something like this unfinished. This is pretty important chapter so any improvements I could make would be good to know.**_

_**Enjoy.**_

PMD: Life in Flames

Chapter 23: Showdown in the Volcano

Elisa, Alex, Eve, and Rio walked down the tunnel towards the volcano, having planned out their attack. As they neared the end of the tunnel, they slowed down and snuck up to the edge.

Heatran, having found their hiding spot, had set himself up outside the hole, eyeing it at all times. Elisa managed to see around the corner of the wall without being spotting by Heatran.

"Alright… he's out there. Not surprising as we've given away our location and I would guess he knows where this tunnel leads."

"I don't know about that but you're going to need to do this Elisa. You're really the only one who can." Alex said.

Elisa knew what he was talking about as they had discussed the plan at length minutes ago. She still found the plan a little suicidal though, and possibly not just for herself.

She sucked in a breath, bracing herself for what they were about to do.

Then she stepped out and jumped down from the tunnel, immediate setting off on a run for the way to Heatran's chamber.

Heatran saw her of course, and roared for her to surrender before giving pursuit.

She was running full out and the weight of the treasure bag she was carrying wasn't helping her stamina. But she pushed herself forward and kept running, ignoring the quake Heatran was generating in his furious pursuit.

o0o

She finally arrived at her destination: Heatran's chamber.

She went up to the stand and pulled out the rock from the bag, carefully placing the rock into the small indentation in the pedestal. It fit perfectly, evidence that it belonged there.

Heatran thundered in just as Elisa was finishing putting it back.

"There!" She yelled at him, "Now leave us alone! We've returned your item!" She yelled.

However, it seemed that the return of his property wasn't enough for the giant master of the volcano.

He roared and power visibly gathered. Elisa could sense the extreme levels of heat gathering in the core of his body.

Then, with an amount of force that seemed comparable to a hydrogen bomb, Heatran _exploded_. Magma flushed out from him in an unbelievable wave, and the entire world seemed to turn red and black.

The bone-melting blast of molten rock swept over Elisa but she stood her ground, absorbing the heat as it bombarded her.

When it cleared, Elisa was still standing, having absorbed the fire of the attack. The entire room was glowing hotter now.

_Just as Alex described it._

This had been the reason Elisa was selected to return the rock-orb: Magma Storm.

Alex had explained to her and Rio that he couldn't return the orb because when he tried to get past Heatran, the monstrous pokemon would use this attack. Alex had already been half-burnt to death twice by the move. The first time, Eve (who had taken shelter from the move) helped him escape. The second time, he managed to escape Heatran by himself and hide, before getting back to where he and Eve had set up "base". Both times had involved the use of rawst berries and some hours of healing.

Elisa found it hard to believe he had healed so quickly, but the scars left all over Alex were evidence enough of what he had gone through.

Now, Elisa was facing down Heatran alone, the only pokemon in their little band that could stand up to Heatran's explosive move. The other three were attempting to make their escape from the volcano. Even if the volcano erupted, Elisa would (theoretically) survive the heat and might be able to escape on her own. The others though, it had been decided it was imperative they get out before the volcano was made to erupt by its raging king.

He didn't seem to be weakened or fazed by the expulsion of hot matter and stomped forward, intent on invoking justice upon Elisa for the theft of his treasure.

"**None of you shall escape my wrath! I will deal with you and then those thieves!**" He roared.

"Yeah, yeah…" Elisa muttered, tired of his "you-shall-not-escape" speech and crouched low, ready to evade a charge.

Heatran didn't charge like before but he attempted to stomp on Elisa once he was towering over her. She ran out of the way of his massive foot, and attempted to run around him to escape.

Her opponent whirled, and swiped with one foot.

Elisa was slammed by the flat bottom of his foot and sent tumbling across the ground, deeper into the room. She got up, the experience only slightly more painful than getting slammed by Alex's tail-spike.

_Ugh… I can't get around him this way… he's too quick despite his size._

She needed the giant to be disoriented, so he couldn't accurately strike her. However, she had no idea of how to do this as she hadn't the speed to run circles around him or perform acrobatics of that nature and even if she tried, she'd likely tire herself out trying it. All while getting smashed into the ground by the volcanic pokemon's furious assault.

Her fire was no use (as he would suck it up just as she absorbed his) and her weak frame had no hope of challenging his physical might.

As Heatran stomped after her again, she glared him down.

_Even if I can't, I might as well try to be a little pest, could buy the others time to get out of the volcano before he makes it blow._

As she thought this, she felt an odd pressure in her skull. It wasn't painful though it was a little uncomfortable, and as she tried to refocus on the behemoth stomping her way, the pressure seemed to push outward.

_What is this?_

She tried to focus her mind on what she'd do to trick Heatran and try to trip up the giant. Quite suddenly, the pressure spiked in her head and her gaze automatically looked up at Heatran, about to strike at her. A bizarre purple ray of light shot from Elisa and Heatran staggered when the light broke across his face.  
>Elisa blinked and shook her head, the pressure going away and she was sure she had just gone into a trance in that instant.<p>

Meanwhile, Heatran was wobbly on his otherwise sturdy feet.

_What? What did I just do to him?_

He roared in frustration and attempted to stomp on Elisa. His foot fell remarkably wide of its mark, several feet from Elisa. She didn't even move and the attack missed by a considerable amount.

_He's… confused?_

Elisa quickly realized the opportunity and snapped herself out of her own bemusement to run around Heatran and escape for the exit.

Heatran, to his credit, tried to hit her but his vision was heavily impaired and he could not make out what was going on clearly enough. She only needed to duck low once when he almost hit her but his massive foot _whooshed_ over her head.

Elisa then was home free, headed for the way out… when things took a bad turn.

Alex came running into the chamber.

"Alex! What are you doing?"

Alex opened his mouth to hurriedly explain but he looked up and braced himself for something. Elisa had a good guess what.

Her guess was confirmed when she was lifted off her feet slightly by Heatran letting out another infuriated roar and another magma-filled wave of heat and fire scoured the room, the force slamming her from behind. She was ultimately unharmed by the attack but Alex wasn't so fireproof.

The Raichu was barely within range of the attack and it bombarded the entire front of his body. When the magma and fire cleared, he had been shoved back by the force and he had a number of blisters across his skin. Had it not been for the entranceway absorbing some of the attack and the fact he was on the fringe of the explosion's area, it would have done worse damage.

"Alex! Are you alright?" Elisa said, as soon as she had shaken off the slight surprise. He was already eating a rawst berry to treat his burns.

"Yeah… I can-" Alex tried to straighten up but winced and quivered.

"Ugh… on second thought, I can't run like this." He groaned, his burns evidently causing him pain.

"Why the heck did you come here? Weren't you escaping with Eve and Rio?" Elisa hissed.

"Heatran… he did something. Blocked our way back. Eve and Rio are trying to find another way out but I thought you might need help and if you got away from Heatran… well, you would have run into the new dead-end."

_Oh great… so we're **trapped** in here unless…_

Heatran interrupted her annoyed thoughts as the ground shook, signaling his rapid approach. Alex edged away, taking cover inside the entranceway and Elisa turned to face her massive opponent.

"Alright you overgrown hunk of walking lava-rock!" Elisa growled, "You wanna fight? _C'mon!_"

She darted to the side with all the speed she could muster, evading Heatran's charging attack. He attempted to turn to catch her but her small body was a little too nimble for him to maintain his velocity. He was forced to slow down to turn and face her.

Elisa was focusing herself out of automatic instinct that had been honed by all the battles she had experienced up to this point. Normally, that focus would've been used to expel flames at her enemy but in this case, Elisa was focusing out of purest habit. As Heatran stomped up to her again, she swiped and batted at his leg.

This, of course, had no noticeable effect on Heatran, who counter-attacked by trying to stomp on her again. She rolled out of the way, the rocks injuring her as the foot sent fragments flying in its wake.

Elisa righted herself and glared up at Heatran, her focus hardening.

Quite suddenly, a strange force shot through Elisa's mind and every one of her five senses in that instant seemed to multiply in potency. In trying to keep herself from being hit by Heatran in an opportune strike, she tried to keep her focus on him and the force shot from her and she could feel it slam the titan-like pokemon.

Admittedly, it didn't seem to affect him that greatly but it did cause the rampaging pokemon to pause and shake his head, a little befuddled by the strange sensation that had just been slammed upon his mind.

_Okay, what in Arceus's name was __**that**__?_ Elisa thought, shaking her own head as well. The sensation hadn't really hurt but it felt a little like a migraine had been starting and she had shoved it off on her opponent.

Heatran, who had shaken off his surprise and attacked once again, interrupted her thoughts and forcing her to evade his renewed assault.

_Ugh. I'm not getting anywhere with this. I can't do enough damage! He's going to wear me down at this rate!_

Then a massive bolt of pure electricity flew into the air and came down on Heatran's back.

The volcanic pokemon roared in agony and rounded on Alex, who had come out from the entrance into the chamber and was standing in the heat, breathing hard as he endured several searing burns across his body. The Raichu's tail was whipping about, which seemed to be indicative of Alex's readiness to fight.

Enraged further by this strike from behind, Heatran raised a foot and attempted to flatten Alex under it, which he only barely managed to evade, his burns preventing better maneuvers.

Elisa, meanwhile considered trying to bat at Heatran's legs again but dismissed this idea.

_No. I'm not going to be any use in this fight doing that._

She then considered the two abilities she had just exhibited minutes ago.

_How'd I do that?_

Being that she wasn't under-threat at the moment (Alex had taken that unenviable position), Elisa retreated into her own mind to search for the answer. She needed to hurry though. Alex wouldn't last long given his condition.

_I was focusing… that one that confused him… I was just trying to think of how to trip him up. Maybe trick him. And-_

As her racing thoughts tried thinking on that, she felt that pressure in her skull again. She focused her thoughts, once more on tricking Heatran… on trying to confuse him.

When the pressure peaked, Elisa opened her eyes and looked up at the volcanic pokemon again, who was trying to corner Alex so he couldn't evade the attacks.

The weird ray of light shot at Heatran and hit. Heatran once again, staggered and blinked as his vision became twisted and muddled.

Alex glanced at Elisa, gave her a grateful smile and then crouched low. He leapt into the hot air and flipped. His tail whirled about him and came down on Heatran's metallic skull with the loud noise of bone striking metal rather hard. It amazed Elisa as Alex landed again, that his tail-spike didn't appear to be broken.

Heatran shook his head again and then spat a massive ball of fire at Alex, who yelped and dove out of the way. The act turned out to unnecessary as the fireball flew several feet off the mark and exploded against a wall, half-melting the point of impact.

_Yes! I did it!_

If she had had hands, Elisa would've no doubt pumped them in triumph.

Alex shocked their foe again and Heatran shook off his confusion and charged directly at Alex. This wouldn't miss and Alex was clearly aware of this judging from his expression.

Heatran's head bowed low and caught Alex by the waist. The volcanic pokemon then jerked his head upwards and Alex was flipped up and back, and slammed into a wall. Elisa couldn't withhold a wince as Alex yelled in pain, which was cut short from the impact with the wall knocking the air from his lungs. The electric-type tumbled to the rock below and the titan rounded on Elisa again.

_Alright… I need to distract him but I want to do some damage so how did I do that other attack? It felt like a headache._

Thinking on this, Elisa realized that it had to have been a psychic-type move as it reminded her of when Rio had been attacked by a Psyduck back in Moss Cove.

_Alright, so it's all in the mind then…_ She thus proceeded to focus her thoughts.

She had to move when Heatran attempted to step on her, yet again. Her thoughts continued to be focused on her opponent.

Then her focus hit that peak again and the sense-amplifying force flooded her mind.

_Alright! Just need to…_

She maintained her focus on Heatran and the force shot from her mind again and slammed her opponent's.

Heatran staggered, shaking his head as the attack caught him off-guard.

Both he and Elisa were surprised when a stream of electricity suddenly hit Heatran from behind. He turned to see Alex had miraculously worked himself to his feet and was the one who had shocked him.

Heatran was unstable by this point, as the attacks had whittled away at his stamina until he had little left. He attempted to charge, intent on finishing off Alex but the Raichu yelled and a thick pillar of electricity shot into the air from him, before arcing over and slamming down on Heatran.

Heatran's rage finally faded as his strength failed him; he stumbled mid-charge, and fell to the ground with a loud, grinding crash. He didn't rise again. After a moment, the volcano seemed to cool. It was still quite hot in the room (if only because Heatran was present) but the volcano was clearly going dormant again for the moment.

Elisa ran around the fallen fire-type and approached Alex, who was bleeding in several areas and his burns stood out as large red blotches across his body. His ears were tattered and crushed. She had never seen Alex in such a poor state.

"That was great!" Elisa yelled, excited that they had taken the legendary pokemon down.

"We… did it…" Alex breathed a faint, content smile gracing his features, and then he seemed to choke, the smile vanishing. He gripped at his chest… before collapsing on the hard rock himself, his tail limp.


	25. Roserade's Rescue

_**Hopefully, everything in this chapter makes sense. If something doesn't, just ask and I should be able to explain. Hopefully I won't need to though.**_

_**Enjoy.**_

PMD: Life In Flames

Chapter 24: Roserade's Rescue

"Alex! Hey Alex! Don't fall on me now!" Elisa said, her concerns immediately sky-rocketing. As long as he had been standing, she had figured he was fine but now she ran up to the Raichu and placed a paw on him, trying to jiggle him awake again.

_Oh man. He's not- is he-?_

She prayed her thoughts were mistaken and rolled him over onto his back. She then placed her ears over his chest (a feat that required placing her head at a somewhat awkward angle).

She was relieved when she could make out the sound of Alex's heart still beating away.

However, it was disturbingly calm, given the situation they had just gone through and Elisa's worries immediately shifted to his well being. She didn't want to think of the possibility of death but with how hot it was in the chamber, she needed to get Alex somewhere cooler at least or the heat would bake away whatever life was left in him.

The problem was, Elisa was considerably smaller than Alex. He had to be roughly twice her size and possibly twice her weight. Carrying Rio had been one thing but Elisa, tired as she was, couldn't see herself even getting Alex off the ground, much less carrying him in any way.

Then she glanced at his long tail and thought of a way to get him to a cooler area. The tunnel leading into the room was slightly cooler than the room itself. Enough that Elisa figured he could survive there. She just needed to get him there.

"Alright. Sorry about this Alex. At least it shouldn't hurt since you're unconscious." Elisa murmured to him. She then stepped over to his tail, picked up the slender cord-like portion in her mouth, and then proceeded to try and drag him over to the cooler zone.

Elisa was exhausted in less than a minute but she pushed herself and kept pulling. She would've best described it as like trying to drag a raft loaded with bricks, across bare ground using a rope tied to the "raft".

_Geez… he's heavy…_

She was almost to the exit when she heard a low crunching noise and looked back. She dropped the tail and ran around to put herself between Alex and Heatran, who was slowly getting up.

"Ugh! Enough! We returned your blasted _thing_! Leave us alone now!" Elisa yelled at Heatran.

Heatran seemed to be a much calmer mood and was considerably more receptive to words now.

"**You're a gutsy fox, aren't you?**" Heatran said, his voice a low rumble, "**If it weren't for the beating you and that Raichu-thief have already given me, I would've stepped on you for those words…**"

"Just try it!" Elisa snapped. In reality, she was bluffing. She hadn't the stamina to move fast enough anymore. She was just too exhausted.

The volcanic pokemon laughed once.

"**Hm. I'm not sure if you're brave… or just really foolish. But seeing how you did see to the return of my Volcano Orb… I suppose I can let you and those thieves go.**" Heatran said exhaling and managing to show just how fatigued the fight had made him. His entire body seemed to sag slightly.

Elisa relaxed slightly as it seemed Heatran wasn't picking a fight now.

"They're not thieves. They're explorers." She said calmly.

Heatran leveled a glare that would've normally made Elisa back down, cowering. However, her body was still pumped with adrenaline and this bolstered her bravery.

"**They trespass and then take what is not theirs to claim, and you claim they aren't thieves?**" He said, clearly finding her logic questionable.

"They didn't know. They didn't know it was yours or what it was. They were curious. Alex here would've put it right back if he _had_ known." Elisa insisted.

Heatran didn't look convinced but didn't argue and he turned and stepped over to the orb to check on his treasure.

Elisa meanwhile, went back around and resumed dragging Alex (by the tail) to safety from the heat. She had just managed to get him into the cooler area when Heatran seemed intrigued by something.

"**Hm. What is this? It has been… how long since I've seen a feather like this?**"

Elisa blinked as she overheard his musings and quickly dug through her treasure bag. She realized in a hurry that the glass-like feather was gone.

_Ack! It must have slipped out when I was placing that lava-rock back on its pedestal!_

She quickly ran over to where Heatran was.

"That's mine! I must have dropped it by accident!" Elisa said hurriedly, spotting the feather and quickly gathering it up.

"**Yours?**" Heatran seemed genuinely surprised.

"I'm not lying! I found it!" Elisa said indignantly.

Heatran looked at Elisa closely before addressing her in a very serious tone.

"**Little Vulpix. If what you claim is sincere, then you are more fortunate than you seem to be aware of.**" He said leaving Elisa thoroughly bemused.

"What do you mean?" Elisa said.

"**This feather. I recognize it, though it has been **_**decades**_** since I last saw any like it. This is feather is one of Lady Ho-oh's.**"

"Ho-oh?" Elisa echoed. She felt like she had heard the name before.

"**Yes. She is a legend that few ever have the privilege to witness, or meet. If you have one of her feathers, then she has chosen you to seek her out. It is an **_**unspeakably**_** great honor.**"

Elisa blinked, utterly shocked.

"**Of course, you must pass her trial first but after the determination you've shown me… I have little doubt you and your companions can handle it.**"

Heatran seemed to be a good mood but Elisa wasn't thinking about that. His mention of her companions brought her thoughts back to Alex.

_He won't be helping anyone if he dies here, his wounds untreated._

Then Rio and Eve came in and looked quite shocked to see Alex in his present state, on the ground. Eve looked like someone had just impaled her through the heart.

"_Alex!_" She shrieked and immediately ran up to her fallen comrade. Then she looked up at Heatran and her look of complete shock was swiftly replaced with a murderous rage.

"_You!_ I'll… I'll-!"

"Eve, **no**!" Elisa cut her off and stepped in front of Heatran, "Me and Alex have already calmed him down! Heatran's not hurting anyone and you are _not_ fighting him!"

However, like with Heatran, Elisa was in no shape to stop Eve if the Glaceon decided to attempt exacting revenge. Eve was shaking with rage and despite the high temperature of the room, there was snow and ice forming around Eve, both on the ground and in the air around her.

To Elisa's relief though, Eve restrained her anger and forced herself to turn away, instead moving Alex further out of the room with Rio's help. There, they tended to his wounds the best they could.

Elisa sighed with relief…

_Geez… keeping another fight from breaking out seems to be harder than stopping it._

After a minute, she went over to them and addressed her partner.

"Rio, did you two find a way out?"

He shook his head mutely before speaking,

"Heatran collapsed the tunnels leading out of the volcano from here. We're stuck in here until someone can clear it out."

Eve seemed to be cooling the area to temperatures that were very comfortable for pokemon like Alex and Rio. Alex's condition seemed to improve, if only marginally in the more comfortable air temperature. He was still a mess of blood and burns though, something Rio was trying his best to treat with some bandages.

Elisa went back over to Heatran.

"Hey, could you clear the way out? You're the one who did it, aren't you?" she said accusingly.

Heatran gave her a sidelong glance.

"**Yes… I did that,**" he rumbled, his expression as stony as ever. "**However, you and that Raichu took more out of me than I might've ever expected. I doubt I could safely clear the tunnels in my condition… you will have to wait at least a day. Do not worry though… I will not attack you.**"

Elisa was annoyed all the same.

_Alex might not _last_ a day. Not here. He's needs more help than this!_

Elisa wandered back over to her companions and checked on Alex.

Alex hadn't woken up, even after what treatment could be applied, had been given. There wasn't any more that could be done to help him and Elisa wasn't sure how long he might last. He could be dying for all she knew (and had little doubt of in his physical condition).

"I'm going to go see if there's a way out we just didn't spot." Elisa finally groaned. She couldn't stand just sitting there with nothing to do but wait.

She walked out into the mild labyrinth that was the volcano's catacombs. She looked around as she had promised and searched for an exit.

As Rio had said, all the previous routes and pathways they might've taken previously were collapsed, a mass of rocks and dirt barring their path. The only ways out were cracks in the ceiling, where heat was escaping out. There was certainly no chance of reaching those.

_There's no getting through this rock anytime soon… not without the force and power of a cannon._

Even that, she reasoned, would likely get them buried or set off the volcano or cause some other side-effect as a chain-reaction. She wondered if even Heatran could safely clear the rock away.

She continued her search until she came to the blocked path that she recognized as the way she and Rio had come in. She wondered if it was just her imagination, but she thought the rock-slide barring the path looked rather shallow.

_Still, shallow or not, I don't have hands and Rio alone couldn't remove this very fast at all._

She sat down in front of the rock pile and sighed, stumped. They were trapped in the volcano with Alex in a possibly life-threatening condition…

She looked up when she suddenly thought she heard something. Then she saw the rocks in front of her change and felt a chill. An instinct in the back of her mind prompted her to back up, which she did. A wise choice.

The rocks before her were freezing over, incredibly enough. It certainly wasn't natural for obvious reasons.

Then the frozen rock pile exploded outwards.

Elisa ducked down and covered her head, sheltering it from the small fragments of rock. As she did this, she was sure a bright, green ray shot over her head.

She looked up after a moment; the tunnel was clear, a layer of ice holding the tunnel open from another cave-in (if one was coming). Then Elisa yipped in surprise (actually _yipped, _like a dog) because several vines came snaking through the dust in the air and, when Elisa didn't move out of surprise and some shock, they swiftly entwined themselves around her entire torso and wrapped around her limbs, restraining her. A few thorns dug into her skin but the vines angled themselves such that the thorns didn't hurt too much.

Elisa was then yanked through the air towards the source of the vines. It was, of course, Roserade. Jinx was at her side, looking somewhat sad. Roserade though had an expression of silent anger.

"Elisa… it's good to see you safe and sound." Roserade said with a tone of deadly calm, "However, after the trouble you have stirred up at my guild, you'll be lucky if I don't boot you from the guild for such a _gross_ infraction of the rules. Especially after I forgave your actions once already. As it is, you will _not_ be leaving my sight for at least a _month_!" She said, her words as sharp as her thorns. Elisa couldn't help curling inwards slightly (what little she could with Roserade's vines holding her) at the Guildmaster's acrid reprimand. She was in deep trouble, no doubt about that.

Elisa could've tried using her fire if she so wished (as her mouth wasn't held shut), however she had no desire to harm Roserade, and besides that, any such attempt would undoubtedly be countered with a painful squeeze, if not worse.

Roserade then proceeded deeper into the volcano, carrying Elisa at her side with Jinx following her silently, almost gloomily.

Roserade demanded where the others were from Elisa, more roughly than necessary and Elisa just submitted to her will. The Guildmaster was clearly in a very foul mood and while she wasn't actively attacking Elisa, her anger was nonetheless causing the vines to tighten uncomfortably around Elisa's belly whenever she addressed the Vulpix. After telling her another direction to take, Elisa tried to speak,

"Guildmaster… we handled-"

"Enough." Roserade cut her off sharply, and Elisa gasped softly as the air was squeezed from her, "I will see everything for myself when we arrive. I will not hear any more from you, save what I demand."

_Ugh… I know I shouldn't have run off and all but- ow, I think Roserade's overreacting…_

They soon rejoined Rio, Eve, and the unconscious Alex. They had moved him further up, getting him even further from Heatran. They were outside the tunnel leading to Heatran's chamber now.

Roserade heard concerning what had happened in the volcano from Eve and would have possibly subjected Rio to the same treatment she was giving Elisa, however Eve stopped her by standing in the way of her vines.

"Guildmaster, they rescued us from Heatran. Elisa fought alongside my own partner and managed to calm him down. As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter what course they took to do it, they've rescued us. I am sure Alex and myself have done similar in our time as an exploration team; in fact, I know it. It was one our first jobs ever. They don't deserve such treatment!"

Roserade looked as if she might've liked to push Eve aside and grab Rio anyways but she decided (to Elisa's relief) to instead, spare Rio. She inspected Alex's wounds, ordered Jinx to escort Eve and Rio out of the volcano, while carrying Alex. She did not release Elisa however and continued into the tunnel to check on conditions with Heatran,

"Just to be sure." She reasoned quietly.

As Rio and Eve vanished around the rock-corner of the tunnel, Elisa squirmed in the vines, which were uncomfortable of course and the thorns had scratched her more than once now. The vines just further constricted her in response.

The Guildmaster confronted Heatran, confirming the story she had gotten from Eve and as Roserade turned, concluding her business, Heatran spoke up once more.

"**Roserade… regardless of your actions upon that one you hold in your grasp… I wish to see her again when she can visit me. I have something that may be of interest to her… but I must recover first. So I will ask that she visit me again when she can.**"

Roserade turned back and looked between the volcano-lord and Elisa, silently considering his words.

"Very well…" Roserade said, her voice still clipped. Her anger had somewhat subsided but Elisa still couldn't effectively move and the thorns were pressing into her body as the vines maintained their hold.

As they exited the chamber, Roserade spoke quietly,

"It may be a while before you are allowed to return here though…" she said, glowering at Elisa out of the corner of her eye, "You will be subject to punishment the moment we return home. _Do I make myself clear?_"

Elisa winced as the vines gave her another unneeded squeeze and she just nodded weakly and tried to remain limp in Roserade's vines as she was carried back to the guild.


	26. Hiatus

_**I realize some of you probably aren't going to like the events of this chapter but it's how I'm going to work things out.**_

_**Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy.**_

PMD: Life In Flames

Chapter 25: Hiatus

Elisa was carried back to the guild, largely without incident. Roserade, strong as she was, fought the small battles on the way one-handed, keeping Elisa behind her and out of it.

Elisa would've liked to offer her assistance, but the vines were uncomfortable as it was and she didn't want to prompt them to tighten upon her further by attempting to ask.

By the time they arrived at the guild, Alex had been set down in the infirmary and his wounds were already well treated. He was on the way to recovery. Roserade had calmed down considerably and released Elisa inside the guild. Roserade then immediately ordered Elisa into the Guildmaster's chambers for her to hear out her punishment.

o0o

Rio was already in the chamber, having a calm discussion with Jinx when Elisa interrupted them by coming in. Elisa could tell at a glance that Jinx was sympathetic with them, however her gloomy expression back inside the volcano and now, back at the guild, told the former human that she felt her hands were tied and she could not do anything to help them.

Roserade joined them a minute later and Elisa and Rio were ordered to stand front and center.

"First off, let me begin by saying that attacking Sentret as the two of you did was most inappropriate. As he has told me, he tried to stop you, Elisa from leaving and he was struck and knocked out. I also heard from Croc about your fight with him and how you went to the volcano… directly against my orders."

"Guildmaster, we just-"

"I already made my will _quite_ clear!" Roserade snapped, cutting off Rio sharply, "You were not to go to the volcano. Far too dangerous, and you could've easily gotten yourselves killed anywhere in or around that mountain. I ordered you to not go for a reason! I did it for your own health! And yet you insisted upon risking throwing that life away in a reckless rule-breaking charge for the mountain!"

"I could take the heat and fire…" Elisa murmured, intimidated by Roserade's anger, which was rising again.

"But challenging Heatran was a measure that only a highly experienced team should _ever_ attempt! Fire-proof or not, you should not have been even attempting such a madcap thing!" Roserade said harshly.

"I wasn't going fight him originally." Elisa pointed out, which was true. The original plan had been to just distract Heatran while returning his volcano orb, while the others escaped, and then Elisa had planned to run from the volcanic legendary and escape herself. She'd been forced to switch plans when Alex showed up and given her the news that they were trapped in that part of the catacombs.

"And yet, that's just what you proceeded to do!" Roserade said, beside herself once more with outrage, "Both of you will be going without dinner tonight. After that Rio, you will be spending the next week cleaning up the mess hall. _By yourself_." Roserade said, her tone strict.

Rio grimaced, as despite the low number of guild members, he was quite aware of the mess that was regularly left after dinner. He would find he couldn't sneak out any food either, as the Guildmaster would be checking on him regularly.

"Elisa, you will spend your days doing sentry duty with Sentret until further notice. Being that it seems you think you're so invincible that you can run off on adventure just anytime, I will see to it that you will not be exploring until I feel you have a better respect for the rules and discipline."

Rio blinked, noticing the dis-balance in their punishments.

"Wait, why is it only a week for me? Why is Elisa's time 'until further notice'?" He said, pointing between them.

"Because, at least you had the sense to not challenge someone like Heatran. The reason you're being punished so severely to begin with is for attacking Sentret, not to mention running off to the volcano. Why? Do I need to extend your disciplinary period?" Roserade said, her threat clear as day.

"Ahh, no." Rio said quickly, immediately backing down.

The Guildmaster looked between them.

"So, your punishments are clear? Then you are dismissed." She said, with quiet but firm finality.

o0o

Elisa found over the next few days (while Alex was taking his time to recover and regain his strength in the infirmary) that Roserade had taken additional measures to make sure Elisa didn't attempt to sneak out again. One night when she had woken up and decided to visit Alex in the infirmary, she found Croc had been posted at the base of the ladder going out. He was dozing as he had been when he had stopped her and Rio going freely to the mountain. However, attacking him as they had then wouldn't work this time. All the Croconaw had to do was essentially make some noise and the whole guild would be there to halt any escape attempts within mere seconds. _Definitely_ no getting out.

Alex was sound asleep but Elisa drew comfort that night from the fact that he looked at peace and looked like he was recovering excellently. Eve was also sleeping on the floor nearby, making a nice little patch of ice where she was resting. He was in good hands (or rather, paws) with her.

Being deprived of dinner that first evening wasn't too bad to Elisa the next day, as she didn't need that much energy to perform sentry duty. The one big downside for Elisa was Sentret, who was quite moody and it seemed he wasn't going to forgive attacking him until the punishment had been served in-full. Rio was miserable though. Not only had he found it hard to do clean up after having no dinner, but he hadn't the energy the following day to go exploring alone. Seeing this depressed Elisa slightly, as she found herself wishing she could go with him, if only to support him and boost his spirits. However, she had been forced to watch from the sentry post as he walked into town. Then Sentret had told her off for getting distracted when a visitor was coming up to the guild.

As for the other guild members, there were mixed reactions to the hi-jinx they had gotten into:

Pitch found Elisa's actions amazing and was awed that she had taken on Heatran herself. He distanced himself from speaking to her though, as he respected the Guildmaster and didn't want to speak too much to someone who was serving a punishment.

Croc admitted that he actually liked Elisa better _because_ of the beat-down she and Rio had managed to give him.

"I like someone with a bit of muscle. Not to mention spunk." Croc laughed when Elisa had apologized to him for half-braising him with her flames, "Sure you sorta embarrassed me but if you got the nerve to go fighting Heatran… well, what am I to _that_? Ha ha ha!"

Ledyba was also unwilling to speak to Elisa, as he apparently agreed with the Guildmaster about their reckless attack on the mountain. He also didn't like that they had attacked Sentret and was particularly distant towards Rio, who he was normally on good terms with.

Jinx (or Jiji) seemed to sympathize with Elisa. She confided to Elisa once that she thought that if Elisa wanted to try and explore somewhere, she should be allowed to do it, regardless of how inexperienced she was. If danger was a concern, someone more experienced could always accompany her. No need to stop her from going at all. However, it seemed she was unwilling to go against her friend and leader's (which is to say, Roserade's) judgment, no matter how much she disagreed with it.

o0o

Elisa woke up again one night, four or five days after events at the volcano. Mt. Corona had since gone dormant again and it showed little to no sign that it had been ready to erupt less than a week previously. It might've just been a regular mountain to those who didn't know better. The evacuation of Veil Island was cancelled and the residents of Silver Village were (according to Rio, as Elisa wasn't allowed out of the guild now) quite happy they would be able to stay safely.

Elisa just wanted to visit Alex again, check on his recovery. She hadn't even gotten out of the hall leading from the bedrooms when a yell of outrage startled her so severely her entire body flared with fire. This would've given her away, if it hadn't been for a similar, but brighter flash also erupting from the Guildmaster's chamber, the door to which was ajar. It was accompanied by the defining crackle of electricity.

"**Do you mean they're being punished?**" someone yelled, the voice slightly muffled from the door but quite audible. Elisa would've been pretty sure it was Alex, even if she hadn't recognized his voice.

Elisa stood there, frozen on her haunches for a moment in shock but then padded up to the door that was ajar and peered in, listening. All she could see was Jinx, standing in the room, watching the proceeding more directly. Elisa was reliant on just hearing.

"…They broke guild rules. They openly defied my _direct_ orders." Roserade was saying calmly, in a tone like she couldn't believe Alex didn't understand her point.

"**What the **_**hell**_** does that matter**?" Alex roared and Elisa cringed at the swearing, something she wasn't subject to normally.

"Alex, _please_. There is no need to raise your voice like that." Roserade said, with strained patience.

Elisa heard someone (probably Alex) heave a sigh and there were several moments while he apparently collected himself. Then Roserade continued,

"This is a guild, as I'm _sure_ you're aware. There are rules to be followed. If everyone was allowed to do just as they pleased anytime, then there would be discord. The rules must be followed for a _reason_." Roserade said, pointedly.

"I know that Roserade, but Elisa and Rio just risked life and limb to go save us _and_ they apparently saved this entire island from a harrowing disaster. Or was Elisa lying to me when she told me that the mountain was ready to erupt while Heatran was rampaging about inside?" Alex said, his patience also stretching.

"Yes… that is true. Mt. Corona was threatening to erupt then." Roserade admitted.

"Then what? On earth. Are you _thinking,_ punishing them for not only saving a couple of famous adventurers like us, but also stopping a local disaster?" Alex said incredulous.

"Heroic intentions or not, they should not have attacked guild members to do so, much less broken guild rules like that." Roserade insisted.

Alex groaned in the most exasperated manner ever, muttering something Elisa couldn't hear.

"This is not the guild you were trained at, Alex." Roserade said tightly, "You have no right to question my methods."

"I'm quite aware you're not Wigglytuff, Roserade." Alex said, an acidic edge to his tone now, "The two of you are _considerably_ different. However, this is ludicrous. You're _punishing_ them when they ought to be rewarded for their bravery!"

Roserade started to remind him, once more that they had attacked guild members to do so but Alex cut-in again,

"It's not like anyone was killed, was it? They didn't do it out of malice, did they?" Alex snapped.

"I should hope not, but still-" Roserade started, her patience stretching further still.

"Then there shouldn't be a problem!" Alex cut-in yet again, "Yeah, there'll be hard feelings but their friendships will heal with some time, I'm sure. In the meantime though, you seem to think that heroics deserves punishment and I don't get that!"

"Alex! That's enough!" Roserade said, her patience apparently hitting its limit, "I know you and your partner are well-known for what you've done on the mainland. You're famous for saving the world twice over, I know that. However it seems it has given you a sense of entitlement. You seem to think you can order others what to do! _I will not tolerate it! Not in my guild, and __certainly__ not directed at me!_" Despite her patience being at its limit, Roserade impressively managed to keep a relatively calm tone, though she was on the verge of yelling nonetheless.

"When did I ever bring _that_ up?" Alex retorted hotly, "In fact, when have I ever ordered someone around like that? I am not some _bigot_ who thinks I can push anyone around just because of who or what I am to everyone else! I am trying to make you see sense though! Team Aura does _not_ deserve punishment for what they've done!"

Roserade started to speak again and Elisa was sure if this argument carried on like it was, they would soon be doing more than just yelling at each other.

"ENOUGH!" She yelled, pushing the door aside, intent on stopping a fight from breaking out.

Her interruption stopped the argument dead in its tracks and she quickly spoke up before she could be overruled.

"Alex, please! I'm taking the punishment just fine and I'll work through it, alright? There's no need to fight with the Guildmaster like this, alright?"

"Elisa…" Alex was a little stunned, "Just how much of our discussion were you listening to?"

"You mean argument?" Elisa corrected him, "And I heard enough to know that you're trying to defend my actions. But the fact stands that I attacked Croc. Rio did what he did to Sentret so I can't speak for him, but still. Attacking them wasn't right."

"I get that point Elisa," Alex said, now calm and trying to sound reasonable to her, "but after how you saved us back at the volcano and all, I don't think you should be punished. It doesn't make any sense."

"Roserade's got a point though. The rules are present for a reason, alright? I'll serve my time with the punishment. I don't really care about recognition anyways." And she was being honest too. Elisa planned on becoming human again and returning home. What use was fame here to her?

Roserade looked a little surprised that Elisa was actually arguing on her behalf but spoke up, calmly, taking advantage of the support,

"Even Elisa realizes my point, Alex. She broke the rules; she is dealt the punishment for it."

"Still…" Alex said, apparently unwilling to completely surrender the point, "How long do you plan on keeping her locked down like this? I notice you gave Rio a week but didn't specify for Elisa here. I still don't think you're being fair to them." Both sides had calmed down and the tension wasn't quite so strained.

Roserade looked thoughtful, gazing at Elisa.

"Hmmm… Well, to honest, I was thinking a month, if not more." Roserade admitted, then thought a bit more, "However, seeing as how she seems to be respecting my authority more than I expected, I suppose I could cut it down to two weeks... just half. If she'll behave herself." Roserade finished with a little smirk that Elisa couldn't help returning with a smile.

"I can do that. Besides, I kinda want to try to make it up to Sentret. He's still got that bruise Rio gave him." Elisa said.

Alex still seemed a little put-out that Elisa wasn't getting off entirely on the punishment but she gave him a playful nudge with her muzzle.

"C'mon Alex, you don't need to be my knight in shining fur all the time. I can take care of myself." She laughed, breaking up the tension.

Alex rolled his eyes and rubbed her on the head in response.

"I still think you deserve better but I guess I can live with the shorter sentence." He said, giving her that silly grin of his.

Glancing around, Elisa noticed both Eve (who had been sitting off to the side behind Alex the whole time) and Jiji were both giving her grateful smiles. They clearly didn't like their partners arguing as they had been and Elisa had stopped it quickly and effectively.

"Alright, you may be forgiven some time from your current punishment, but it's late and you shouldn't be up and about, young Vulpix." Roserade said, gently taking command, "Back to bed with you."

With that, feeling very satisfied with herself and happy to be on better terms with Roserade again, Elisa obediently left and headed back to bed.


	27. Heatran's Secret

_**This might be a rough chapter but I'm adding a bit more exposition to the story here.**_

_**Enjoy.**_

PMD: Life In Flames

Chapter 26: Heatran's Secret

Elisa spent the next week continuing her work with Sentret. It wasn't until about halfway through the second week that Sentret finally lightened up on her and he seemed have forgiven their actions in sneaking out of the guild.

Alex didn't argue further with Roserade and work went as usual. The two explorers revisited Mt. Corona and by the end of the second week of Elisa's punishment, Alex and Eve were still at the mountain.

_I wonder if they're asking Heatran questions? I hope they don't annoy him…_

This did not seem to be a concern as the volcano was as dormant as ever.

Finally, Roserade decided that Elisa's behavior had been exemplary and lifted the punishment from Elisa, allowing her off of sentry duty. Sentret was somewhat disappointed that she would be going out on explorations again and not spend more time with him but Elisa reassured him that she'd think about trying sentry duty again, voluntarily sometime.

Elisa still remembered Heatran's last words and was curious what he had to show her so she had been planning since to head to the volcano again when she was allowed the chance. Now was the time to go.

Just to be safe, Elisa decided to ask the Guildmaster before she headed out.

"Roserade, I plan to go to Mt. Corona again. Do you have any problems with that?"

Roserade seemed amused by this as she smiled and chuckled lightly.

"I forbade it previously because of the eruption underway at the time. I have no problem with you going now. Just be careful, alright?"

She nodded in agreement and turned to head out of the guildmaster's chamber.

"Elisa…" she was stopped as the Guildmaster called her name and she turned to listen, "I hope you find your way home again…"

Elisa blinked in surprise, as she hadn't told the Guildmaster about herself… at least not _that_ much.

"I know the pokemon in the region, being that I've lived here basically my entire life." Roserade explained, "I've been aware from the beginning that you are not from this island, though I do not know anything beyond that and besides that, it is none of my business." Roserade looked a little guilty, like she had been prying into Elisa's life.

Elisa felt a bit embarrassed deep down and perhaps a little annoyed that some of her secrets weren't exactly secure, however she also felt appreciation when she considered the Guildmaster's words of support. Even if she knew the truth… Elisa felt she could trust Roserade.

"Thanks, Guildmaster." Elisa gave her a grateful smile.

"You are always welcome to my guild, Elisa. Do not forget that." Roserade said with a nod.

Elisa returned the nod and walked out.

o0o

Rio intercepted Elisa on her way out of the guild.

"So you're finally off sentry duty?" He said, asking for confirmation.

"Yes Rio, and I'm going back to Mt. Corona. Right now." Elisa said firmly. The Riolu was a little surprised that she was heading back there so quickly.

"Um… can't we go exploring other places first or something?" He suggested.

Elisa could tell from his tone and his subdued demeanor that he didn't want to go back to the volcano. Given what they had gone through on their most recent trip there, she could see what his unwillingness stemmed from.

However, Elisa wasn't about to be deterred.

"Heatran said something about wanting to see me again when I could come again. I want to know it is that he wants to show me." Elisa explained, "Besides, the volcano's not so dangerous now. What's there to be afraid of?" she insisted.

"It's still a hot place, Elisa." Someone else answered for Rio, much to Team Aura's surprise.

Quil came walking up from the path to the village.

"I know Rio and he doesn't like a lot of heat. It amazes me that Rio went with the stunt you apparently pulled a couple weeks back." Quil said, chuckling, "I don't think I could've gotten Rio to follow me into Mt. Corona. Not now… not as long as I've known him."

"I think he's just been too timid up 'til now." Elisa said, rather bluntly. She had a teasing edge to her voice though. Rio, understandably, got very defensive.

"What? W-what are you talking about?" He said, stumbling over his words in his surprise. Quil also looked a little quizzical.

"I'm talking about when we first met, Rio." Elisa said, suppressing a giggle at Rio's flustered reaction, "As I recall, you were afraid I was going to hurt you… when I didn't even know how at the time."

"Well, I didn't know that at the time!" He responded.

"Yeah, but you still could've probably handled me, even if I knew then, yet you fell on your behind." Elisa laughed. Quil, meanwhile was simply watching this conversation, drawing a good deal of amusement from Rio's reactions, which was mostly indignant.

"Yeah, well at least I stuck by you and got you be my friend." Rio countered.

"I had to push you with some help from Jinx to get you to go after an outlaw." Elisa shot-back, still giving him a smirk.

Quil stopped the argument before Rio could try to further "one-up" Elisa.

"Alright, alright, that's enough. Settle down." He said, laughing good-naturedly.

"My point Rio," Elisa said pointedly, "is that you've changed since then and I think you can handle the volcano. You've already been through there once."

"Yeah… but what good was I?" he muttered somewhat sullenly, "All I did there was slow you down and run away from Heatran. I never fought up there. I-"

"Oh yes you did Rio." Elisa quickly cut-in, "I never would've made it into the volcano alone. I might've never had the courage to even go there myself if it hadn't been for you Rio." She said with undeniable certainty.

Rio silently struggled to respond to this but finally he just asked what she meant.

"Rio… we've changed each other. Haven't you noticed that?" Elisa asked, "I doubt I would've ever gotten out of the guild and explored so much if it hadn't been for you. I didn't even want to leave the guild when I woke up in there. You've helped me through a lot and…" Elisa slowed down and stopped herself from saying _too_ much. As much as she liked her partner, she didn't want to blurt out her deeper feelings for him.

Her partner looked a quite stunned as it was.

Elisa had been thinking over the past several days that she had been a Vulpix. Being that she had had copious amounts of time to burn on sentry duty, this gave her plenty of time to reflect.

And she had realized what Rio had motivated her into doing over the past few weeks. She had fought back against Golbat. She had gotten up the courage more than once to fight a tough opponent (first an outlaw, then Heatran). He had even helped her recover from her loss as a human. What was next?

_Am I even going to be able **want** to become human again? I don't want to leave him because of what he's done for me._

Elisa honestly wasn't sure if she could leave Rio. He meant too much to her now.

Quil was quietly standing on his hind legs, off to the side, trying to keep out of the way and give them space. Elisa noticed the unusual tension in the air and quickly acted to break it up before things got awkward.

"So Quil… um, why are you heading for the guild? You need something?" she said quickly.

Quil was taken slightly off-guard by her suddenly asking him and he looked like crest-fallen for a moment (as if he had been deprived of something) but then answered casually,

"Oh, I just thought I'd visit the guild. I did hear from Rio about how the two of you got yourselves in trouble."

"Uh… yeah…" Elisa said, her face getting a little warm with embarrassment.

Rio had apparently explained, at length, how they had traveled up to Mt. Corona, how Elisa (with Alex backing her up) had beaten Heatran, had returned the orb that belonged to Heatran, and then had gotten… "rescued" by Roserade.

Quil didn't seem to hold anything against either of them. He was chuckling as he recalled the story.

"Given all that, I suppose I have to wonder why you're so afraid to go there again Rio. Heat or no heat."

Rio didn't look like he wanted to say but he finally mumbled:

"After all those burns… I don't want to deal with somewhere so hot… I don't even want to go to Ash Cave anymore."

Elisa felt a twang of guilt at this, as she had been responsible for some of his burns herself. She hadn't intended them of course, but riding a Vulpix was going to cause some burns. She set this guilt aside though; she needed Rio… and besides that, she was pretty sure he was hiding something else.

"C'mon." she said simply, "I'm not going without you. I… I _need_ you as my partner Rio." She said.

"Why? You can handle things without me. You handled Heatran." Rio said, clearly trying to justify how his presence wasn't needed.

"No. I had help there and I can't always rely on Alex to help. He's got other things to do. Rio, c'mon. I need your help, alright? So let's go." Elisa then proceeded to push Rio towards Mt. Corona with her head.

Rio started to struggle against her and they were at a stand-still until Quil decided to speak up.

"Rio. Go with her."

"Why?" Rio said in clear protest, shoving Elisa's head with his paws.

"Because if you don't, she might not return and then where will you be?" Quil said bluntly.

Rio froze and Elisa did too, looking back at the Quilava.

"I know the volcano's dangerous, even for a fire-type. Go with her to defend her; make sure nothing… happens to her." Quil prompted him, his expression quite serious.

Elisa backed off from Rio, considering arguing with Quil's claim she might actually get killed there.

Rio sighed though, and Elisa could tell he was resigned now.

"Alright…" he half-groaned. He clearly wasn't looking forward to revisiting the volcano but Quil had finally convinced him.

Elisa was still looking at Quil.

"I don't know… it's just a sixth sense." Quil said in response to her look, "I feel like I'm not going to be seeing you again. Maybe I'm wrong but I'd rather Rio not beat himself up if you get killed when he could've possibly prevented it. Be careful in there… both of you, okay?" he said gently.

Elisa wanted to ask a question… but she couldn't seem to think of one to ask.

"Thanks Quil." She finally said. Elisa and Rio then turned and headed for the mountain, Quil watching them go in silence.

o0o

On the way up the mountain, they found that there weren't as many resident pokemon to deal with. Given that the threat of eruption was gone now and the environment was more at peace, this wasn't too surprising.

"Hey Rio," Elisa said, her curiosity getting the better of her, "How long have you known Quil?"

"Quil?" Rio repeated, "We've known each other a good while. He helped me recover after my experience with Team Gangster, alongside my dad. He's been my best friend for a long time."

Elisa raised an eyebrow and chuckled.

"For someone who dislikes fire, you sure make friends with a lot of fire-types." She commented, amused.

"It's not like I'm _terrified_ of fire." Rio said, rolling his eyes, "He helped me though, especially after my dad vanished on me. Until I joined Roserade's guild, he gave me support and helped me with supplies when I went exploring. I actually wanted him to join with me when I joined the guild but he told me he didn't think he was cutout for it. I had to join alone as a result." Rio was downcast by the time he finished speaking.

"Hmmm… well, at least _I'm_ here now…" Elisa offered, trying to cheer him up. He took the words silently and they continued on up the mountain.

o0o

They entered the volcano without too much trouble. Any lava outside of the mountain had since hardened into cool rock and the inside of the mountain was warm but not hot, making the journey considerably safer and easier than their first trip.

They made their way down the catacombs and it took perhaps two hours, but they finally arrived at Heatran's chamber.

Team Long Ears was there, visiting Heatran, talking about something which Heatran was silently listening to. When Team Aura came in, the attention of all three was drawn to them.

"**Ah. You have returned.**" Heatran said, his voice a low, calm rumble as he saw Elisa.

"Alright Heatran, you said you had something that would be of interest to me? What is it?" Elisa said, getting straight to the point.

Alex and Eve didn't interrupt, simply listening for now.

"**I believe I will be able to help you get to where you need to go.**" Heatran said.

Elisa raised an eyebrow, her interest piqued. The question she was going to ask was obvious: How?

"**Because you saw to the return of my Volcano Orb, I can help you and I feel I owe you my assistance. Therefore, I will offer my assistance in this matter.**"

Elisa felt a little abashed that a pokemon like this felt he owed her something but she accepted the words and asked Heatran how he was going to help.

"**It is a secret few know… but my Orb allows me to transfer to any volcano. I am not the only Heatran there is but I am responsible for certain volcanoes around the world. The Orb is a precious treasure that help protects the volcano from calamity and gives us power. I may also use this power to send you to where you may find Ho-oh.**"

It was at this point that Alex spoke up.

"Hold on. Ho-oh?" He looked at Elisa, looking surprised, something Elisa hadn't seen before on Alex's face.

Elisa pulled out the feather and showed it to them.

"This is apparently one of Ho-oh's feathers. I'm supposed to be able to meet Ho-oh with it." Elisa explained.

Alex walked up to Elisa while Heatran stepped over to his Orb.

Elisa held out the feather to Alex, who took it and looked at it. After several moments, Alex chuckled…

"Well… no wonder I thought I'd find Ho-oh here. If I'm not mistaken… I think this might've been stuck in your fur right there." Alex said pointing at Elisa's tuft of fur on top of her head.

Elisa blinked.

"It was the first or second time I rubbed you on the head… I got a Dimensional Scream." Alex explained looking thoughtful, "I saw a volcano and a bird wreathed in flames. When I saw that, I thought you might end up involved. After all, I thought I was getting the vision from _you_. I couldn't see the feather since it's as clear as glass. So I made sure you were prepared, as you well-know."

Elisa blinked.

"You saw all that… from that feather?" Elisa said, stunned. Alex chuckled again.

"You're not the first one to react that way to my ability."

Other events were also starting to make sense to Elisa.

_That explains what the feather was doing in that clearing after I was passed out there. It must have been knocked loose or something from my hair when I exploded on Team Gangster and then passed out. As for why it stayed there… maybe it's too heavy to be blown away?_

She wasn't sure on that last point, but the fact remained that she had first noticed the feather by stepping on it in that clearing. However, if it had been there in her fur all along, the question still remained: How did it get there?

"After that first vision… I suppose I kept rubbing you there, hoping for another vision to get more answers. It's kinda developed into a habit since then." Alex admitted, then handed the feather back over.

"So… what did you originally come to the island for?" Rio asked as Elisa (lost in her thoughts for the moment) quietly took the feather back.

Alex shrugged.

"We're explorers. We just came to explore. This caught my interest and of course, Eve's when I told her. She thought I ought to tell Elisa the truth, but I was hoping she wouldn't need to get dragged in. It's more or less my fault there. We've been searching this volcano for signs of Ho-oh or another similar bird from the start. Another reason we disturbed Heatran's orb was because we thought it had something to do with the legendary we were expecting to encounter. We were asking Heatran about Ho-oh just now."

"What do you know about Ho-oh, Alex?" Elisa asked rather suddenly. Alex was a little taken aback by the question but answered:

"Not much. I know from what I've heard that it's a legendary pokemon who isn't seen too often. I'm also pretty sure Ho-oh has a lot to do with fire. That's about it really."

Elisa nodded and took a moment to process the information.

"**If you are ready, I can send you to the island where you should be able to find Ho-oh with that feather.**" Heatran said stepping in during the pause in the conversation. "**Be warned though, the trial that awaits will not be easy.**"

Elisa didn't have all the answers yet but she had some suspicions… she just needed confirmation.

"Alright Heatran. Can you send both me and Rio?"

Heatran nodded, apparently having no problem with sending Rio too.

"**Step onto the podium then and I will transport you with me.**"

Elisa and Rio started towards Heatran and his Orb when Alex spoke up.

"Hold on a minute."

Elisa turned to face him.

"You sure you got the strength to handle this, Elisa?" Alex asked with a look that questioned her ability.

Elisa was a little surprised for a moment… then realized where Alex was going. The look he was giving her was the same one when he had provoked her into attacking him previously. Elisa's mildly annoyed expression told Alex that she saw what was coming.

"How about one last fight? Just a friendly fight between us?" he said, his tone causal, like he was offering a suggestion.

"Alex…" Eve protested, exasperated.

Elisa rolled her eyes.

"Alright. Rat-roast it is." Elisa sighed and stepped towards the Raichu, "Here I come, Alex."

Alex gave one last glance towards his partner.

"Don't worry Eve, it's just a friendly fight." he assured her, "I want to see what she's got." He then had to focus on Elisa, as she had fired a blast of flames at him.

###

_**I couldn't resist a real fight between Alex and Elisa.**_

_**And yes, I know Heatran doesn't really have a teleportation ability. It's something I made up. He's got to be upset over the theft of that orb for a reason, right? At any rate: Poetic license and all that.**_


	28. Alex's Mistake

**_This chapter ends on a pretty serious note. Only one thing happening here but I hope it's interesting enough._**

**_And thank you for reading my story this far, your readership is both appreciated and encouraging._**

**_Enjoy._**

PMD: Life in Flames

Chapter 27: Alex's Mistake

In her time spent working alongside Sentret, Elisa had thought on many things… including how her fire worked.

She had realized after fighting Croc and in fighting Alex the previous time that her flames did not seem to operate off of her emotions… not any directed at Rio anyways.

Fighting Croc, she had been concerned with protecting Rio then… however Alex was certainly not about to harm Rio and she knew that. Protection then wasn't the issue. There was evidently something else that brought it out.

Elisa had a theory now about how to bring out her fire's greatest potential.

She spat another fireball at Alex, who shifted to the side and Elisa rolled over to avoid a sweep from his tail. She charged directly at Alex and attempted to swat him across the face with one paw.

The action was swift enough that the Raichu couldn't evade but he swiftly countered with an electrical shock that made Elisa's entire body spasm. She tumbled to the ground, rolled away, and then hastily put distance between them, trying to avoid Alex's pressing attacks that followed. Rio had yelped, concerned that Elisa had been seriously hurt by the shock but she felt fine, though a little shaken.

Elisa attempted to tighten her focus but Alex was a little too swift and the Vulpix had to dive to the side when he bounded forward and swung his tail down hard on Elisa's position. The impact cracked the rock floor.

_A __friendly__ fight? What was friendly about that?_ Elisa thought, staring in disbelief at the cracked spot in the floor. Then she had to jump back yet again when her opponent came at her and attempted to launch an arcing bolt of electricity at her. How she evaded it was beyond her but she decided then if Alex wasn't going to hold back, she might as well test out her theory about her flames.

She stood her ground and focused hard on the fight before her. She removed any concerns about her own safety from her mind. She was going to show Alex that the saying about fire was quite true. You did not fight her without getting burnt.

She jumped to the side as Alex's tail attempted to cave her head in again and she inhaled sharply, before attempting to roast Alex in a blast of fire.

The fire, unfortunately, wasn't as strong as Elisa had intended and Alex raised an arm to shield his face as the sizable fireball hit him. Elisa hadn't felt like she had been blazing either.

_I'm missing something here… what is it though?_

She charged directly into Alex when he struck with that snake-like tail again and smacked him, retreating as swiftly as possible when he attempted to electrocute her again.

She then circled around him, avoiding the advent of being backed into a corner.

The Raichu gave her a playful, yet taunting smirk and advanced on her again.

_Erg… I'm getting tired of that grin now._ Elisa thought irritably. She scowled as more animalistic instincts started to kick in and she crouched low, ready to strike back.

The Raichu attempted to swat her again with his tail and she decided in that moment to return the favor. She feinted towards Alex but as he made to electrocute her, she stopped short and whirled around, raising her tails into his face.

There was a flash as the tails all flared with firelight and Alex staggered blinking and shaking his head as the sudden bright light blinded him. Elisa ran forward, turning back around and inhaled deep.

_Let's see him smirk at me after **this**!_

Again, Elisa attempted to flambé the mouse. The results were both satisfying and disappointing. On one hand (or rather paw), the flames weren't as powerful as desired like before. On the other, Alex wasn't ready for the attack this time around and was knocked off his feet by the impact.

He got up, still trying to rub the spots out of his eyes.

"Alright Elisa, you wanna play dirty?" Alex said, chuckling as his eyesight seemed to recover, "I can play dirty."

Alex moved a paw across his brow like he was pushing something out of the way and started running around Elisa, his tail trailing out behind him and going at exceptional speed. Before long, Elisa found herself seeing two of the Raichu running around her.

She attempted to see through the illusion and got slammed over the head for her trouble, knocking her straight to the ground.

She got up, shaking away the stars blinking in her vision and barely evaded Alex's tail as it swiped at her again.

She looked around herself as the two Raichu's circled her, the chuckling annoying her to no end.

"Erg. **Hold! STILL!**" Elisa spat in frustration and blew a stream of flames across Alex's path.

Two things happened that she didn't expect.

First, she actually hit the real Alex. A lucky hit on her part.

And second, rather than knocking Alex off his feet, Alex was forced to come to a halt when the fire swirled around him like a snake coiling around prey and continued to twist around him.

Elisa blinked in mild surprise, as she hadn't demonstrated any ability to do _that_ before. She quickly shrugged it off though as Alex was now stuck in the middle of the coiling blaze.

It apparently didn't stop him from attacking her though as Elisa had to jump out of the way when another bolt of electricity arced at her.

"This all you got Elisa? C'mon, I've fought Charmander with more flare than this!" Alex taunted through the fire, though he was wincing slightly as the flames scorched him.

_Alright! Enough's enough!_

"Shut up!" She snapped and, her resolve to show Alex a thing or two hardening, she spat more fire at him, adding to the blaze.

In that instant, Elisa flared and the flames that hit Alex exploded in a star-shaped pyro-blast.

He was knocked from the circle of flames, burnt and his joking, cavalier attitude gone.

Eve looked quite tense as she watched the on-going fight. She clearly did not like the direction the fight was taking.

Alex got up again, wincing as a new burn seared on his arm and chest.

"Alright. You got some skill." Alex said, sounding quite serious now, "So let's up the ante!"

Alex's tail swung straight down hard and Eve's eyes widened as his tail planted itself into the rock. The Glaceon promptly got down and covered her head.

Elisa saw why seconds later.

With a yell, Alex proceeded to unleash a dense blast of electricity that flew in all directions!

Elisa swiftly hit-the-deck, as did Rio. Heatran in the back simply bowed his head as the wild, yet powerful attack hit everywhere in the chamber.

Though she was close to the ground, Elisa still found the electricity stinging her slightly. Heatran absorbed most of the attack though, stoically taking the shock with his skull-like head.

Almost immediately after, Alex's tail removed itself from the rock and he unleashed a fat bolt of electricity that arced into the air high overhead and attempted to come down on Elisa.

Elisa didn't even have time to yell out the obscene word that came to mind in that moment. She ran out of the way in the quickest way she could.

Alex, attacking with a mercilessness she had never seen, slammed her into the rock in the middle of her maneuver. The electricity had more or less missed, but Elisa found herself floored by the sheer physical force that had been used. The roll of fur on her head was somewhat crushed and partially in her eyes.

"Not bad… but you still need a little more power…" Alex said, apparently a little out of breath. He chuckled again.

"Ought to see your hair though… it's a mess…" he laughed in a good-natured way.

Elisa was annoyed as it was with his shift from the serious mood back to his usual cheeriness.

However, his last comment was the final straw. If he had been more apologetic, she would've taken it better but there was nothing sorry about his tone.

Rick had always like her hair. As a result, Elisa had gotten rather touchy about her crimson hair over the past few years. She felt it was the only thing she had left from him. Her one remaining memory of him. It was bad enough that this _rat _had messed it up, but his nonchalant attitude unleashed a primal rage inside Elisa that she had never known before.

_Ooooh… I don't care if I'm human or a Vulpix… **no one** messes with my hair!_

She got up, shaking with rage. Alex wasn't paying attention though as he was already turning to his partner. Rio backed away, as he could see just how very furious Elisa was and he did not wish to be in her way. Eve meanwhile, was also noticing this and had a look of worried dread on her face.

"Alex…" Eve started quietly. The Raichu tried to assure Eve that Elisa was alive, not realizing what was coming.

Elisa was lost in utter outrage. She was more than angry… more than just furious. It might've been just hair, but it was the first thing to have given her meaning to Rick and she would not tolerate damage to it being taken so lightly. Her rage tightened into a hardened ball and she had only one focus: Hurt the Raichu.

"Alex…" Rio started, a tense edge to his voice…

Alex looked back and then saw what they were so concerned about.

Elisa glared up and seemed to lock-on to her target. He promptly readied himself to evade a fireball but instead, Elisa charged at him.

"Look out!" Eve yelled, a little too late.

"_**BURN!**_" Elisa literally snarled as she jumped at his face and exploded in blast of intense heat and incinerating flames.

Eve was knocked rolling away, just out of range of the blast but the concussive force had still hit her rather hard. Rio was well out of range but he still looked away as the fireball appeared to engulf all three.

Alex, receiving the brunt of the fiery explosion, tumbled backwards out of the fire, third degree burns marking him in a few places and much of his fur burnt away. His condition was only slightly better than he had been following the fight with Heatran.

Elisa meanwhile landed on the rock ground, which was now cherry-red and very hot. She was breathing quite hard and her chest was pounding as blood that felt the temperature of lava pulsed through her.

"_Alex!_" Eve yelled as soon as she had recovered and looked up to see her partner down. She promptly got up and ran over to him to check on his injuries.

Rio was staying back, a certain terror gripping him.

Elisa wasn't done yet. Her anger was still ruling over her mind and she was not rational.

She charged and Eve reacted with aggression.

"Elisa, get ahold of yourself!" Eve yelled and the Vulpix was slammed with a wave of freezing air filled with powdery snow.

This at least caused her to come to a halt but Elisa still retaliated, firing a massive ball of flames at Eve, which she had to either take to shield Alex or dive out of the way and leave him vulnerable.

She braced herself in those seconds and tried to keep herself from screaming as the blaze slammed her, raising her temperature well above what was healthy for a Glaceon. She was down in one blow.

The Vulpix's human mind was still overrun by rage and Heatran was in no position to stop her in time.

She started toward Alex again but was knocked off her feet when a paw slammed her from the side and knocked her rolling across the ground. She quickly got back to her feet and rounded on her attacker… to see herself facing Rio.

Rio had started to run as quickly as he could when Eve came under attack and struck. Now, he faced his own partner down, nervous but determined.

In that first instant, she was ready to strike, but realizing that she was facing Rio snapped Elisa out of her bloodthirsty rage and she blinked, the intense blaze both in her chest and her mind suddenly petering out to mere embers.

"Rio? What-?" she murmured, then she groaned as fatigue immediately occupied where strength from purest rage had been a second ago.

Elisa didn't sit down, she _fell_ down, directly onto her side. She had no strength left in her to even lift herself from the ground.

Rio moved to check on her but Heatran stepped forward,

"**No… I will see to this one's well being. Tend to those two.**" He rumbled, quite serious.

Rio nodded and hurried over to Team Long Ears.

o0o

When Elisa woke up again, Heatran was standing over her so if she looked up, she could see Heatran's underbelly. The area was exceptionally hot, which was probably why she felt fine, if not exhausted.

She glanced around and soon found Rio nearby and also spotted Alex and Eve resting against the wall in the tunnel going out of the chamber, where it was cooler.

Elisa tried to rise but her legs didn't respond, aside from a slight trembling movement. She was sprawled on the rock, her legs splayed out at various angles and her head at a crooked angle to her body that was uncomfortable.

Heatran stepped back and Rio immediately stepped forward as the intense heat from the legendary dissipated and helped Elisa with eating an apple from their treasure bag. After eating one, Elisa found she had the strength to eat the next unassisted and after that, she managed to get into a more comfortable lying position.

"Is… Alex okay?" Elisa said, her voice weak and a bit raspy.

"Yeah… you burned him badly but he's recovering just fine here in the volcano. Eve too." Rio assured her in a gentle voice.

Elisa's mind was starting to register what had happened and her last memory came back to her… much to her shock.

"Rio… I-"

"Shhhh…" Rio hushed her, still gentle and rubbed her along the neck, trying to calm her.

_I… I was about to attack Rio… Why? What was I thinking?_ She clearly remembered the flames built up in her chest and throat in that moment when she had regained her senses… and she was confused why she was facing Rio… about to try and incinerate him with her flames…

She was too shocked to say anything and, Rio's gentle motions instilling an odd sense of peace in her, Elisa drifted back off to sleep, her troubled mind shutting back down despite itself.


	29. Elisa's Fire

PMD: Life in Flames

Chapter 28: Elisa's Fire

Some hours later, Elisa had no way of knowing exactly how long, she woke up yet again.

For some reason, _now_ she was feeling the effects of the battle, fatigue aside.

What woke her up to begin with was her head. She had a severe, painful headache, which felt like her skull was trying to fall open and her skin was the only thing holding it closed. There was little else to describe it other than it hurt, and was surely the source of the phrase "a splitting headache".

_No doubt because of Alex braining me with that tail-spike of his. That thing's incredible…_

She still remembered how it had cracked the rock and wondered how her skull hadn't been broken open by the same thing in similar fashion.

Another source of discomfort was her side, where Rio had palm-slammed her. This injury hurt in more ways than one. There was the obvious physical pain. It hurt badly enough that Elisa was wondering if Rio's Force Palm move had fractured two or three ribs. If they had been broken, she was sure she would've been in even more pain. As it was, she was lucky not to be lying on that side. She couldn't see it at present but Elisa wouldn't have been surprised if a bruise had formed there.

The other pain was simply from the fact that it was Rio who had dealt that blow. And Elisa had only herself to blame for him doing it. She had forced him to in the defense of Alex's life. She felt quite ashamed of herself for her actions. It had been really childish of her, getting so angry over something that shouldn't have held _that _much significance to her. Sure, she appreciated her hair… but Alex didn't deserve to be burnt to death for damaging it.

_Of course… that's not what I was thinking when it happened…_

She mentally sighed, as doing so physically would've hurt with her side in its present state.

_I guess I haven't really let go of Rick… not yet…_

Elisa's mind was prompted to think back to her human life.

_How'd I get to this world? How did I end up in that burning forest?_

She still didn't have answers to all the questions running through her head but the only explanation for how she had been feeling before waking up, a Vulpix… was that she had died. Though she had also been reflecting on this while working with Sentret, she hadn't drawn any conclusions yet.

The dream she had been having had felt too real… yet it had still been a dream.

_It was so hot…_

She recalled many details about her previous life over the next hour… her review resulted in one in particular fact sticking out in her mind…

_There was something wrong with the fire system… a virus got into the system computer or something… the apartment complex… the reason I was so hot…_

She was simply connecting dots in her head.

_I burned to death then… but then… how did I get sent to this world?_

She had no explanation for that. And also, the complex may have caught fire somehow… but that didn't explain why she wasn't woken up. From what she could recall of her dream, she had burned to death before suffocating from smoke and fumes. It was just too hot and too painful.

_Why didn't the smoke detector go off in the apartment? It was working fine last time Mom and Dad checked…_

Of course, it might've been just dead batteries…any number of possible events… but the fact remained that she was a Vulpix now… saved by some unknown entity…

Her thoughts were interrupted when someone touched her side and she winced from the pain that shot through her chest in reaction.

"Ooh… sorry…" Rio said quickly, retracting his paw.

Elisa smiled despite the pain.

_Just like when I first actually woke up…_

She opened her eyes and looked over at Rio, who was crouched down near her.

"You feeling better?" Rio asked, his voice still using that gentle quality.

Elisa experimented with her legs a bit. They moved freely and without too much issue, though they were a bit stiff from her not moving for a while. Stretching while lying down prompted a shock of pain from her ribs again.

She finally decided to try getting up. The process was slow and very ginger, as her side was quite sensitive and just breathing caused her mild pain. Eventually, with Rio's assistance, she was on her feet again, though when she tried walking, Rio had to support her as she almost fell down again. Her body was still rather weak and recovering from the battle. Rio walking alongside her, they made their way over to where Team Long Ears was resting, Alex laid against the wall and Eve sitting next to him. The Raichu was a mess of burns though he looked better than after fighting Heatran. Eve had a burn that was healing across the front of her body that was a dark blue on her skin.

Elisa was fully expecting a glare from Eve at the very least for her actions, but to her surprise, Alex (who was awake) was smiling gently and Eve just looked concerned about her partner (and perhaps Elisa, though she couldn't be sure).

"Um… I'm sorry about what I did…" Elisa said slowly, getting right to the point as usual.

"Surprised me…" Alex admitted, shifting so he was sitting up a bit more, "However, I think I also owe you an apology…" Elisa was a little surprised at this.

"We've been a top team for some years now Elisa… and I guess the power has kinda been going to my head… I've been a jerk to you, haven't I?"

"That wasn't your fault!" Elisa said quickly, but Alex shook his head gently.

"No… I'm sure it was. You're normally such a nice pokemon, but I clearly said something that ticked you off. You lost control of yourself… something I've seen before and I've dealt with in other pokemon… but this time around, I was taken by surprise and you got me good." Alex chuckled in that usual way, but Elisa found it less annoying now… perhaps it was the fact that Alex seemed embarrassed over being struck so hard.

"I really am sorry. I kinda needed a good knock to the head, so thanks," he said.

"I still shouldn't have attacked Eve like I did… I even nearly did the same to Rio…" Elisa said, almost whimpering. She was still ashamed of herself for both actions.

"I've been hit by fire before…" Eve said, blowing some cool air over her burn during her pause, "Yours is pretty strong I must admit, but it's not anything I can't live through. So don't worry about it." Eve assured her.

"And you snapped out of it before you attacked me." Rio added in cheerily.

"But I don't want to be using my flames so violently… out of simple anger…" Elisa said quietly.

"It wasn't anger…" Alex said calmly and firmly. Elisa looked up, curious.

"Elisa… before you attacked, what was the one thing you wanted to do? Be honest." Alex said, very straightforward.

"I… I wanted to hurt… you…" Elisa admitted guiltily, averting her eyes from Alex.

"And you did. Severely." Alex said, smiling and holding back a laugh.

"So I need to want to hurt others?" Elisa said, disgusted by the idea.

"Don't jump to conclusions…" Alex said calmly, "Was there anything else you wanted to do right then?"

Elisa reflected on that moment of pure outrage…

"No." she finally answered.

"That's your answer." Alex said with perfect confidence, "Focus."

"But I've _tried_ focusing!" Elisa interjected, feeling mildly frustrated, "I've never brought out flames like that!"

"And yet you did… because you were _determined_ to do me harm." Alex pointed out.

"Determined?" Elisa echoed, noticing his emphasis. The word echoed in her head and she recalled her brief meeting with Lapras.

"Yes, determined. I'm sure from what I've seen about you and heard concerning what you've done, that your fire draws strength from your _determination_, your will to accomplish your goals."

Elisa was silent as she took in this idea.

"But… I did that to those gangster-guys and-" Elisa started.

"You wanted to keep me from leaving you." Rio cut-in, to the surprise of both Elisa and Alex. Elisa looked up at him, blinking.

"You told me in Denwood that you were scared I was going to leave you…" Rio explained, "You must have really wanted me to stay. I mean you blasted them pretty good, I saw that myself."

"That Honchkrow and his two flunkies?" Alex asked, refreshing his own memory.

"Yeah… I… had some issues…" Elisa said uneasily. Alex looked at her for a moment, then a smirk spread across his face before he laughed quite loudly and Eve looked a little surprised at the reaction.

"What are you laughing about?" Elisa said indignantly, "There's nothing funny about that!"

Alex waved a hand though, shooing the issue away.

"Just something that occurred to me. It's nothing though." He said, choking his laughter down again. He stopped abruptly when one of his burns seared and pain shot through him. He calmed down and settled back down against the wall.

Elisa suspected there was more but there wasn't any chance of her drawing the information out of Alex.

They sat in silence, Alex looking at Team Aura.

Then Heatran came up to them. They looked up at him on his approach. He was looking at Elisa with a curious gleam in his eyes.

"**Hmmm… you…little fox.**" He inclined his head towards Elisa.

"I have a name, you know…" she said, sounding bored, "its _Elisa_." She really did not want to be referred to as a fox, a Vulpix, or anything of that nature. She was adamant that she was human, beginning to end, even if she didn't look like one. Being that she was aware of the connection now, she actually noticed her entire body warm, if only slightly as she felt some annoyance with Heatran and her determination over the issue asserted itself.

Interestingly enough, Heatran did not seem surprised by her relatively unusual name; in fact, he seemed to have expected it.

"**You are not of the flame, are you?**" He rumbled, sounding mildly amused and somewhat intrigued.

"What?" Elisa and Rio both raised an eyebrow at his comment. After a moment, Alex elaborated for them.

"I think… Elisa, he knows you're not originally from around here." He said, somewhat hesitantly. Elisa and Rio were enlightened but now Eve looked confused. Elisa sighed as it was apparent her secret was going to come out, right here, right now.

"I'm human. Originally." She said, quite resigned. Eve blinked but then smiled.

"Well then, it's no wonder your name is as unusual as Alex's is." She said, sounding pleased somewhat to Elisa's surprise, as she hadn't expected the Glaceon to take it so well, "Did you know him?" Eve asked.

Elisa shook her head.

"I'm afraid I never met anyone named Alex before I ended up here." Elisa explained. Rio was confused now, as he couldn't follow the logic. Elisa noticed and whispered into his ear:

"_Alex is originally human as well._" Rio stared and then looked at both of them, as if trying to see both of them as human once.

Rio opened his mouth to speak but it seemed he couldn't think of what to say, so he just shut his mouth and continued to stare in disbelief at Alex. Alex seemed to have guessed what she said because he was clearly amused by Rio's blank stare.

"How did _you_ end up a pokemon, Alex?" Elisa said, now curious. She had been reflecting on what had brought her here, but now that she thought on it, she was wondering how Alex had been transformed.

_Was he struck by lightning?_

Alex couldn't help an amused smirk.

"Well, I'd tell you it's a long story but we've got time to burn right now anyways while we heal so… why not?" He said with a shrug and sat forward. Elisa sat down and Rio sat next to her as Alex started into his story about his adventure years back.

"It started with a Grovyle... who was a very good friend of mine..."

o0o

Elisa and Rio stayed awake during the entire story (which was two or three hours in length) and Rio had been paying rapt attention. Alex had embellished one or two parts (something he denied) but Eve kept the truth straight when she was needed. As the story drew to a close, Elisa noticed she was leaning against Rio, who didn't seem to mind but she hastily straightened up, hoping no one noticed. The motion would've caused her ribs to hurt again but it was evident that her injury had healed as it barely stung now.

"Alright… that's my story…" Alex said, sitting back again before continuing, "Elisa, I think you're ready to go search for the end of your story in this world. You can do it without my help. I know it." Alex said with firm confidence.

Elisa had a lot to think about… and she wasn't so sure now if she had the will to become human again. She cared so much about Rio… deep down; she really didn't want to leave him behind. But there was much she could lose in her human life if she didn't return…

"**Hrm… if you are ready, I can take you to where you may find Ho-oh.**" Heatran rumbled, "**So, are you ready?**"

Elisa sucked in a breath… she felt like she couldn't answer in confidence… but finally answered "Yes."

Heatran nodded and turned towards the podium in the center of the chamber. As Elisa, Rio, and Heatran neared it, Alex stood up, wincing from his burns again and some scars cracking.

"Good luck!" He called, waving after them.

Elisa raised one paw off the ground and waved back, Rio also waving alongside her.

"**Step onto the Orb's pedestal.**" Heatran ordered them calmly and they obeyed, trusting him.

"**Hm… alright, brace yourselves!**" Heatran said, tensing up and then he let out a deafening roar and the world seemed to vanish in a funnel of rising fire.


	30. Arrival

_**This part has some basis taken from the games. You might recognize the name of the mountain, though not from my previous story.**_

_**I'm still working with a good bit of originality though.**_

_**Thank you for your readership to this point and I hope you enjoy.**_

PMD: Life in Flames

Chapter 29: Arrival

When the fire died down, Team Aura and Heatran were definitely in a different place.

Looking around, Elisa could see it was another volcano, as there were streams of magma slowly flowing into other regions of the catacomb they were in. Of course, Alex and Eve were nowhere to be seen.

_Alright… time to find Ho-oh and make use of this feather. If I'm permitted to see her, I might as well take the opportunity._

Heatran was looking around. The legendary looked rather disturbed, as if someone had nearly stolen his orb again and he had only just prevented the thief from doing so. He was wary.

"**Hmmm… be careful you two. I sense a force around the mountain. I do not know who it is but I can feel them even here and it is not Ho-oh…**"

Elisa and Rio looked at each other and Rio looked around. After a minute, he closed his eyes and took a moment to think.

He shuddered.

"I can feel them too." Rio said, sounding a little scared. "I don't think they're nearby…" he didn't sound too sure though.

Elisa wasn't sure what either of the two were sensing and she couldn't see anyone in the chamber or around it. If someone else was present, they were very well hidden from view, as the chamber did not have much in the way of hiding places.

"**This force…**" Heatran murmured in a low rumble then shook his head,** "Hm, I will stay here and keep an eye on the orb here. I feel it is not safe. When you wish to return, let me know and I can return us to Veil Island.**"

That reminded Elisa:

"Where _are_ we anyways, Heatran?" She asked, turning to look at him.

"**This is Mt. Faraway. It is quite distant from where any of you come from and it is a volcano that has never been very active. Even some ice-types live on the surface, outside of the mountain." **Heatran explained,** "The closest landmass is home to a very well-known pokemon rescue team but it is separated by a stretch of ocean.** **I do not think you will come across any pokemon from that region.**"

Elisa was curious but she did not ask any further questions. She turned for the only visible exit from the chamber and Rio followed her out.

As they proceeded up, searching for the way out of the catacombs, they came across several fire- and rock-type pokemon who seemed rather aggressive.

Elisa practiced trying to focus her determination on her goal and found the task to be easier said than done. For one thing, she felt she had many goals and some were in conflict with each other.

The fact that her determination was scattered resulted in her attacks not being any bigger or stronger than normal. She could nail most with a large fireball but she did not blaze as she had previous times.

At one point, they came across a Dugtrio, which was a threesome of brown, mound-like moles with only a nose and eyes. The rest couldn't be seen below ground.

Elisa tried blasting the moles with a fireball but the trio vanished underground. Elisa felt the ground tremble under her feet and quickly hopped back. Just in time, as the moles erupted from the ground, scattering bits of dirt every which way. Elisa fired at them again, hitting this time and Rio quickly moved in, slamming the lead mole with his paw. The three vanished underground again, and Team Aura was left alone.

Feeling slightly frustrated with herself, Elisa was actually quite aware of why her focus wasn't… focused.

She was in-conflict with herself. She wanted to be human again. She wanted her family again. But her feelings for Rio were holding her back. Plus she was finding so much to do with herself in this world. She didn't want to leave Rio and, to her own amazement, she was finding it fun being a Vulpix.

She had too much to lose on both sides of the issue and she could not decide where her loyalties were.

They continued on up, coming across mostly Camerupt as they went. They defended themselves against these residents and knocked them out as they went.

"Why are the pokemon all aggressive anyways? Things seem rather calm around here." Elisa said as they took out another Camerupt that didn't like their presence.

"Heatran didn't mention it, but whatever he was sensing… it's causing a rather disturbing field in and around the mountain." Rio said, glancing around as he spoke, "Because I'm sensitive to aura, I can feel it too if I concentrate. I don't like whatever I'm sensing and clearly, neither does anyone else around this mountain."

Once again, aura seemed to have something to do with events and Elisa, unable to sense it, was completely lost.

"Oh, speaking of aura, I... saw yours when you lost it with Alex. Jeez, that was scary…" Rio shook his head thinking about it.

Elisa looked at him expectantly. He got the message clearly that she wanted to know what he saw.

"It's… interesting, Elisa. It's not black. But it's not like any I've seen in all my life." Rio said, sounding intrigued. Because he wasn't answering the primary question Elisa had buzzing in the forefront of her mind, she spoke up.

"What color is it?"

Rio seemed a little perplexed… though in a way that Elisa realized meant that he wasn't sure how to answer.

"It's… it's clear. Colorless. That's the best I can describe it. Like I said: nothing I've ever seen before. I could sense it but actually seeing it was a little hard."

Elisa blinked, a little stunned at having a unique aura like that.

_Kinda like Kale's maybe?_

That thought brought up another issue that she voiced immediately.

"Hey, we never _did_ find your dad back at Corona." She said.

Rio remained silent a moment before responding.

"While you were unconscious, I talked with Heatran… he told me that a Lucario did visit his volcano. He didn't upset Heatran by taking the volcano orb but Heatran didn't see him again after that. I don't know what happened to my dad… I wonder if he found another way here or something?"  
>Elisa had no idea what to tell her partner. She couldn't see how Kale would've gotten to Mt. Faraway. But she didn't see why he would come here in the first place…<p>

_Unless…did he find one of Ho-oh's feathers too?_

She had no idea and even Kale had found one, how would he know the significance of the feather?

They were forced to deal with another Dugtrio that burst from a wall and then tunneled over to them to attack them. Elisa was forced to put her thoughts aside to focus on the fight. By the time they finished, she had lost her train of thought.

o0o

Team Aura continued on upwards, through the mountain, fighting the residents on a regular basis and they finally emerged into moonlight.

"This must be outside the mountain." Rio said, squinting up at the moon overhead, which was barely giving any light, as it was a sliver of silver that was waning in size. They would soon have a new moon within a couple more nights.

"Let's find somewhere to set-up camp and rest." Elisa said, she didn't want the two of them getting lost in the dark of the night.

They traveled a little ways up-hill and soon found a large clearing of rock. Rio managed to find some dry wood around the area, set it up in a little campfire-formation and Elisa lit it up using her fire.

She couldn't help a smug little smile as her flames gently set the wood ablaze.

_Matches have nothing on a Vulpix's natural abilities_. She thought to herself. She really was finding being a pokemon wasn't as bad as she had thought it her first day as a Vulpix. But then again, many of her views had since been changed.

As they settled down for the night, Elisa's mind wandered back to her issue of whether she really wanted to leave this world and Rio behind. She wanted to be with her family again. But she liked being a Vulpix for a few different reasons. And hearing about all the adventures Alex and Eve had gone together... Elisa found herself wanting to go on an adventure like that with Rio.

She found it a little silly when she considered perhaps trying to go back home in her current form.

_No one would recognize me, and my parents would likely refuse to house what they think is a wild Vulpix._ She shook her head, a small smile of amusement crossing her face. She finally yawned and dozed off.

o0o

Elisa's night was unpleasant to say the least. When she woke up the next morning, she found herself wondering if it was the fact that she had been thinking about her difficult choice that had brought on her rough night.

She had had almost nothing but nightmares.

She relived her death, but this time the flames seemed more twisted, and there was no scream from her nor any voice. She couldn't scream. There was only the searing sensation of burning flesh and agonising pain.

Then there was the confrontation with Team Gangster. They seemed crueler in her dream and her rage was worse. Her pain from remembering her terrors then was an echo but it was still unbearable.

Attacking Alex. Remembering her uncontrolled rage. Exploding on the Raichu and her shame over attacking him so violently seemed like it was cutting her heart out in her dream. It was like someone had taken the memory of each pain and magnified it.

When she finally woke up, the sunlight was barely coming over the horizon and she found herself grateful she didn't need to suffer through any further nightmares. They were alone at the top of the mountain.

Then she got up and found she was sore. Her entire body ached like she had been compressed all night.

_Ow… why am I so sore?_

She looked back at where she had been lying and felt the rock she had been lying on.

_Hmmm… maybe it was just the rough night and hard rock…_

She convinced herself it was just that and the lack of bedding… however it wouldn't explain why her _entire_ body was sore.

Rio got up soon after her and he didn't look any better than her. He looked just as sleepless as she did and he also showed signs that he was sore as he got up.

"Ugh… last time I go without bedding and sleep on bare rock like that…" Rio groaned, stretching and wincing slightly as his arm ached from the exertion.

Elisa looked around and realized just then that they were at a rather unique location. In fact, they appeared to be at the top of Mt. Faraway.

The mountain peak was largely an enormous, flat expanse of rock. Towards the back of the mountain peak was an array of columns that might've fit-in at some ruins. Beyond that, was a sheer cliff and ocean beyond, far below.

"Wait a minute… maybe this is where we can meet Ho-oh." Elisa said, hope filling her as she looked around. The place was far too neatly arranged for it to be just an ordinary mountain peak.

She stepped forward and pulled out the clear feather, holding it aloft.

Rio watched, waiting as she looked around.

…

After about five minutes, Elisa was sure nothing was going to happen.

She lowered the paw holding up the feather.

"What's going on? I thought Ho-oh was supposed to appear if I had this." Elisa said, quite disappointed.

Rio looked around, still searching the skies for signs of a legendary pokemon.

"I think Heatran said something about a trial you had to pass first?" he said.

Elisa had forgotten that detail but now she remembered.

"But… what's the trial then? What do I do?" She said. She would've shrugged if she had been human.

She looked at the feather and remembering that it seemed to be fire-proof, decided to try burning it to see if anything happened. Since it wouldn't burn, at least she wouldn't lose it if she tried it.

She summoned up a bit of fire from within and spat the embers at the feather. The feather appeared to burn for a few minutes and then the fire faded, a faint trail of smoke rising from the undamaged feather.

"Well, _that_ was real effective…" she muttered, a sour mood setting in from the lack of clues and her sleepless night. Rio seemed to be watching the smoke as it rose and hovered off behind them. Then he stared out where the smoke was floating off.

"Whoa! Elisa, come take a look at this!" Rio said, staring in awe at what he was seeing.

Elisa looked back from sulking over the feather and, after putting the unburnable feather away, she walked over to the Riolu's side and gasped as she looked over the landscape before the mountain.

They could see the landmass that Mt. Faraway was situated on… and it was the most chaotic landscape Elisa had ever seen.

One portion of land seemed to be molten ground, where it seemed Mt. Faraway's lava went since it wouldn't come out of the mountain itself. That land was covered in lava and was directly south of the mountain.

To the east of the molten piece of landscape was a portion of land that was covered by a massive thunderhead of a cloud, raining lightning down on the landscape below. That was more or less south-east of the mountain.

And last was a region of land that seemed to be frozen over, north of the region being lashed by a thunderstorm. How it could exist on the same landscape as the lava-bound area to the south was beyond Elisa but there it was, coated in snow and ice despite the sunlight shining down on it. That area was directly east of the mountain.

The entire arrangement gave the land a roughly paw-shaped appearance.

"Whoa…" she gasped as she looked this landscape over from the mountain.

"Maybe… maybe Ho-oh's over there…?" Rio suggested, pointing south at the area covered in lava.

"Rio… you know it is going to be hot there. Just like at Corona when Heatran was rampaging." Elisa warned, looking between Rio and the field to the south. She certainly didn't want to repeat events as they had been in the river of lava.

"Elisa. If Ho-oh can possibly help you be human again, I want to help you find her." Rio said firmly. He wouldn't be changing his mind.

_But… if I do that… _Elisa couldn't help thinking about what returning to human-form would mean. However, after a minute, she sighed as she realized they might as well check. Given that they had no other leads and Ho-oh was reputedly a bird of fire, it seemed like the most likely location to find Ho-oh if she wasn't at the mountain.

"Right… let's go." She said, unable to withhold some reluctance over the idea. Nonetheless, if Rio was resolved to help her, she would go.

And so they set off down Mt. Faraway, towards the molten field to the south.


	31. Entei's Trial

PMD: Life in Flames

Chapter 30: Entei's Trial

They reached the base of Mt. Faraway easily enough, which helped improve Elisa's foul mood from the bad night's sleep, if only slightly.

No mountain residents really stood in their way, and they soon had their choice of which way to go first among the three regions.

"Let's go look for Ho-oh over there." Rio reaffirmed, pointing south.

Elisa felt an instinctive thrill run through her nerves. The prospect of heat excited her body… but there was something else that made her uneasy. She had no way of knowing what the source was.

Nonetheless, she agreed and they headed across a rock wasteland towards the lava-covered field ahead.

o0o

Elisa looked around as she felt temperatures steadily climb. They were soon walking among small lava-flows and the air was rippling with heat like in Corona when the mountain had been active. The warm ground and bits of ash floating on the slight breeze made Elisa feel instinctively at home.

Given these feelings, she shouldn't have been surprised when they came across another Vulpix.

Looking at the fox, Elisa didn't quite feel like she was looking in a mirror but it still felt a little awkward when the other Vulpix apparently didn't like them and attacked.

_I feel a little like I'm fighting myself._ Elisa thought as she swiped at the fox, knowing full well that her flames were useless against it.

Rio didn't seem perturbed by facing the other Vulpix and slammed the fox with his paw. Elisa couldn't help a slight wince as it looked like it hurt and it was the same species of pokemon she was. Her guilt over what happened the other day also tried to rise up again but she put it down.

The Vulpix then counterattacked with odd flames that Elisa had never seen herself use. The fire was an unusual bluish color. It launched the flames at Rio who winced as the flames broke across him and left several blisters across his skin. Unlike Elisa's flames though, they didn't seem to cause actual injury.

The former human then shut her eyes tight as she tried that sensory-overload ability of hers.

Unfortunately, Rio was forced to strike first before their opponent swiped at her and the other fox was knocked to the ground where it remained down.

Elisa groaned. She had failed to call up that weird migraine and Rio had had to step in.

_Blast it, I can't focus enough…_

She cursed under her breath and, hearing her muttering her frustrations, Rio tried to console her.

"Take it easy Elisa, it's not a big problem."

"No… I just need to concentrate harder." She said quietly, more to herself than Rio.

They continued deeper into the field, which seemed as if it might've been caught up in an inferno. Rio was sweating a lot due to the heat by this point but there was the occasional cooling breeze. It wasn't that cool as the lava was continually heating up the air but it still was a slight comfort to the Riolu.

The real concern was all the other fire-types they encountered in the field. They came across Charmander, which were an orange lizard and they also were frequently coming across Magmar and its infant-form, Magby (both of which looked vaguely humanoid but were the bright red and yellow of flames).

Of course, these were little concern for Elisa in terms of personal danger. She simply absorbed the fire and returned fire (quite literally).

It was protecting Rio from them that was the problem. They seemed curious about Rio and apparently wanted to burn him to get a better idea of what he was. After hitting a few, Rio backed off from the latest challenger (a Magmar) with a burnt paw and arm, waving the reddened and blistered appendage about from the searing pain.

Elisa stepped in the way and absorbed a series of small flames the humanoid pokemon was attempting to spit at Rio.

_C'mon Elisa… focus!_ She thought, mentally prompting herself.

She gritted her teeth as she tried to focus on the idea of protecting Rio to give her determination a boost.

Admittedly, it didn't help as much as she would've hoped but she still slammed the Magmar with a fireball enhanced by its own fire. The flaming pokemon staggered under the blow, already weakened by Rio's aura-empowered strike and tumbled over.

Elisa's frustration with herself wasn't helping her concentration and she was getting aggravated with her inability to willfully use her own power, which really only worsened conditions and further debilitated her.

Rio wanted to say something to try and reassure her but he judged from her highly annoyed expression it would be better for him to keep his mouth shut, lest she snap at him in her irritation.

o0o

Elisa was still in a moody disposition when they came to a cliff with a bit of a "lavafall" before them, where lava was pouring down from a ledge over their heads, well out of reach. It seemed to be a dead-end.

Looking around, they didn't see any sign of Ho-oh. There was just the rock ground and the lava flowing around them in the open-air of the field.

"Guess I'll try holding up the feather again." Elisa said, sounding unconvinced anything would happen.

To her surprise, when she did hold it up, something did happen.

However, it wasn't Ho-oh.

There was a deafening howl that set all of Elisa's fur on end in alarm and Rio clapped his paws over his ears.

Then a very large pokemon ran up from the ledge in front of them and jumped, landing with a very loud crunch of rock before them.

Elisa backed away slowly, alarmed by this new pokemon, as it wasn't one she was familiar with.

It resembled an enormous dog with masses of shaggy brown fur and a white underbelly with black braces around each of its legs. Its face had a red and yellow crest-like design over its eyes that somehow seemed to resemble fire. And on this thing's back was a set of fin-like blades extending from its sides with a trail of soft-looking fur waving on its back in the breeze, giving the fur a look like a smoke-trail.

"Ahh, visitors seeking the mirage. I am Entei! I shall test your resolve!" The large dog said in a deep, fairly loud voice.

Before Elisa could ask what the heck Entei was talking about when he spoke of "the mirage", the dog bounded forward and Elisa had to roll to the side to avoid his paw coming down on her. It hit with an abnormal amount of force and the ground cracked slightly from the impact.

Instead of asking the question she wanted to ask, Elisa found herself forced to start fighting instead and spat a fireball at the dog, hoping to set its fur ablaze.

The fire broke across Entei but he didn't seem particularly fazed by the hit.

Rio charged and slapped their opponent in the face with one paw, making the usual loud _smack_. Entei stumbled under this blow but then breathed in and then exhaled a stream of flames, which immediately swirled around Rio.

_Well, Entei's clearly fire-type. That's the same move I used on Alex. How'd I pull that off anyways?_

Elisa pulled her mind back on track though, she didn't have time to think on that because Entei lunged forward and attempted to stomp on Rio, who was trapped in the vortex of fire.

Elisa quickly charged at the dog and attempted to hit him with a stronger blast of flames. However, her focus was scattered with panic and her indecision. She was worried about Rio's well being.

Rio couldn't attack through the fire swirling around him and Entei turned on Elisa as her relatively weak flames broke across him again with little effect.

With a low growl, he opened his mouth and clamped his jaws down on Elisa before she could evade.

Elisa would've screamed from the pain but the attack crushed the air from her lungs and she instead ended up gasping, the shock causing her to go limp and helpless in his mouth.

She was then tossed away, leaving her to tumble across the hot, rocky ground. She couldn't land on her feet, injured as she was and ended up getting further scraped up on the rocks.

As Elisa worked herself back to her feet, she found she was feeling quite faint. Her heart was already pounding and her entire frame was shaking from weakness. As if that weren't enough, her mind seemed to have been shattered and she couldn't find any focus.

Then Entei brought his foot down on Rio, who was unable to evade it within his flaming cage.

As the dog lifted his foot and backed away to ready his next attack, Rio worked himself to his feet again but Elisa could see he couldn't take much more.

An immense feeling of despair started to grip Elisa.

_We can't stand up to this sort of force… I can't even control my fire like this. How the heck are we supposed to beat Entei?_

Rio was breathing hard and trying to remain standing. She saw Entei readying another fire-based attack.

_Rio won't survive that… not in his condition._

Elisa shut her eyes tight; she didn't want to watch this. However, another part of her mind was still eager, still raring to fight this dog. She wouldn't have been standing if some part of her hadn't still wanted to fight.

_I can't just give up! Rio needs my help and I'm just standing here like a useless lump! I couldn't help Rick but I won't lose Rio! I can do _something_, I know it!_

Elisa reopened her eyes, her goal in that very moment crystal-clear: Protect Rio. It was the only goal she had now and she felt her life depended on it as much as Rio's.

Entei was focused on Rio. The dog actually had no lethal intentions and planned on holding back so that he would avoid killing the Riolu.

Nonetheless, Elisa shot forward into his line-of-fire and came to a halt, standing between them. She was blazing with fire, her determination clinging to her only goal.

She didn't move as the flames swept over her and her body absorbed the fire.

"Leave. Him. **Alone!**" Elisa snarled and spat an enormous blast of her own fire at Entei.

The dog bowed his head, enduring the intense fiery attack as it exploded across him. He raised his head afterwards to counter-attack but Rio shot forward through the fire and walloped him over the head with a swift strike.

Entei stumbled back, the attack catching him off-guard and Elisa gave no quarter.

She shut her eyes, focusing hard and concentrating until she felt her mind might explode from the tension. It didn't take long for the migraine to strike and she immediately threw the psychic force at Entei who was, again rendered stunned by the force these two were suddenly displaying.

Rio charged, his expression set in stone, as he reared back with one aura-coated paw, jumped, and then lunged forward at Entei's face.

The impact knocked Entei to the ground with a resounding noise that sounded as if the dog's facial bones may have been broken by the strike.

Rio landed from his attack and they both stood, waiting to see if Entei would rise.

The dog did rise and Team Aura both readied themselves to attack again but the dog of fire spoke first,

"Enough! You have proven yourselves worthy. Present the clear wing once more!"

It took Elisa a moment to comprehend what he was talking about but once she gathered that Entei was no longer interested in fighting them, she realized he had to be talking about the feather.

A little confused, she dug through the bag a bit before producing the feather and held it out to Entei.

The dog breathed in and Elisa's first impulse was that he was going to attack after all but she didn't react since she knew the fire couldn't harm her.

Entei fired a blast of flames that seemed like they would envelop the Vulpix but instead, they hit the feather and only the feather was caught in the flames, even as Elisa held it out.

After a minute, the fire died away and the feather had changed.

Elisa was now holding a feather that was a shade of crimson. It still shined like it was made of glass and it was still transparent but the feather was clearly changed.

"I know of your goal, young one." Entei said, addressing Elisa with a kind smile and drawing her attention away from the feather, "Visit my brothers in the other two fields and they will help you reach that goal. You must confront all of us if you wish to meet with the one who has given you this second chance."

Before she could speak up, Entei bowed low and leapt up an incredible distance, landing on the cliff from whence he had come, quickly disappearing from view.

"Wait!" Elisa called, belatedly, but it was too late now, Entei had left.

_What he said- how'd he know? Given me a second chance? Then what I've been suspecting this whole time is true?_

Elisa felt like her mind was numb but then another concern took hold of her.

She collapsed. She hadn't been feeling the agony from her wounds due to sheer adrenaline and concentration upon protecting Rio but now, her legs were in severe pain and she couldn't stand anymore.

She would've hit the ground if Rio hadn't quickly caught her.

"Whoa. You gonna be alright, Elisa?" He said, looking at her most severe wound: Entei's bite marks that went around her chest. One or two bloody teeth marks were also in the upper areas of her front legs. The wounds had gotten slightly bigger from the exertion she had put forth fighting Entei.

Elisa found it a little hard to breathe now, as it was painful for her chest to expand with the bite-marks.

She coughed a bit but managed to get out some words to reassure her partner.

"Yeah… I'll recover."

She winced as this also involved breathing, which hurt.

Rio dug in their treasure bag and pulled out their medical kit. It took a few minutes, but Elisa was soon bandaged up the best Rio could manage and they laid down there in the field where they had fought Entei, resting.

Elisa had suspected ever since hearing about Ho-oh that the bird was the one who had transformed her.

Actually, as she thought about it… it had been when she had first seen the feather. She'd knew she had seen it before. The memory had been hazy at best… but now, she could be sure.

_Ho-oh… you did this to me… now I'm going to do what you wanted me to do. I'm coming to find you and I'm going to figure out who I really am. I promise… I'll have the answer by the time I arrive._

In the meantime though, she rested her head against Rio and took some time to regain her strength.


	32. Raikou Strikes

PMD: Life in Flames

Chapter 31: Raikou Strikes

Elisa reflected on her thoughts as they rested in that clearing.

_So Entei knows I'm originally human and that I came here, hoping Ho-oh would help me return to being human. Not only that, but Ho-oh is the one who did this to me in the first place._

Elisa was also wondering about how Ho-oh would look. What did a bird of fire like that look like?

After a minute of reflecting on Entei's words, she realized that fighting Entei and his brothers was probably the trial Heatran had mentioned.

_But those other places… they don't look like somewhere you'd find fire-types._

She was, of course, thinking that if the pokemon they were looking for were Entei's brothers, they were fire-types as well.

_Oh boy… I just hope they aren't tougher than Entei himself… or this could be hard…_

After perhaps 15 minutes of rest, (maybe it was longer, Elisa couldn't be sure) she started to feel a little better and tried getting up.

She was still shaky but her wounds didn't hurt as bad. She managed to stay on her feet under her own power.

Rio checked under the bandages and found an interesting little surprise: Elisa's wounds had already clotted over and were well on their way to healing. The area where the bite-mark was felt a little stiff to the former human, but she could move if she used some care.

_Huh. Cool. I wonder if it's got something to do with me being a fire-type?_

She seemed to remember reading in an academic book somewhere when she was human about cauterizing wounds with heat or fire. If pokemon worked the same way, Elisa figured her own body heat and internal flame had likely cauterized the wound quite handily on its own.

_Being a pokemon just keeps showing more and more perks._

She couldn't help a cheerful little laugh as she looked at the wounds herself.

_How on earth will I ever decide to become human again with benefits like these?_

When Rio asked what was so funny, Elisa just simply replied, "I just find it interesting."

o0o

It didn't take them long to get out of the lava-covered field, as the residents didn't seem to bother them as much. Elisa's wounds had more or less healed by then, though there were scars barely visible under her fur.

Rio was grateful to get out of the baking heat from the lava.

"Alright, Entei said to visit the other fields and fight his… brothers, right?" Rio said, reconfirming their objective.

"Yeah, that sounds right." Elisa nodded and pointed north-east, "I guess those fields over that way are our next destination. Let's go to that one first then since it's closest." She said, indicating the one with a thunderstorm lashing it non-stop. Thus, they headed out that way, crossing the wasteland once more.

o0o

It wasn't long before they stepped onto the dry ground of the lightning-lashed field and Elisa immediately felt immense worry about getting struck by lightning.

Most of the landscape was flat, yet rocky and uneven ground. There was little to be seen here save for the occasional, blackened husk of a tree or sapling. Anything that stuck up in this area had clearly been pounded like a nail by lightning until little was left of it. About the only thing that hadn't been hit it seemed, were the shrubs that grew where there was soft soil and even some of those were burnt from an electrical discharge.

"Sheesh… Alex would be right at home here…" Elisa commented as she watched three lightning strikes come down almost one after another. There were yet more hitting the area around them, the thunder pounding on their ears with a dull roar.

As they proceeded into the area, one of the first pokemon they came across was a somewhat quaint-looking sheep. It had a striped tail that ended in a glass-like ball.

Elisa hadn't seen one but she had heard of Mareep before.

Then a heavy discharge of static hit her, coming from the sheep's fluffy collection of wool. The shock caused a spasm that popped her into the air and it hurt, though after being electrocuted by Alex this felt like just a mild shock in comparison to Elisa.

Elisa quickly gathered her focus and spat a fireball at the sheep. It bleated in panic as its wool was set ablaze and Rio darted forward, smacking it in the side. It rolled over in a faint and they had the kindness to douse its wool (which seemed to have lost its charge) before proceeding.

They also came across Magnemite, which were very queer orbs made of metal with magnets on either side, screws twisting about on its surface, and one unblinking eye on its front. Elisa only needed to blow smaller flames at the orb and the rather intense heat of the fire made the Magnemite tumble to the ground in pieces.

Somewhat to Elisa's annoyance, the first resident that actually gave them trouble was a Pikachu. Elisa knew the pokemon almost purely by reputation with that distinctive lightning-bolt tail.

_Count on the one pokemon Alex was originally to be the one that gives me the most grief in this place._

The little yellow mouse pokemon had shocked Elisa first thing and ran to the side to evade her fireball used as a counter-attack. Rio attempted to hit it, rushing forward and he succeeded in smacking the mouse over the head but it didn't react well to that and Rio was rewarded with a pulse of electricity flowing through him that rendered him paralyzed.

Elisa attacked with more flames, which the Pikachu ran to evade and shocked her again.

"Ergh! Enough!" She yelled and ran at the mouse before pouncing on it.

The two of them tumbled and Elisa managed to pin the Pikachu under her where she unloaded a breath full of fire directly into the mouse's face. Needless to say, it couldn't evade this. It cried out in pain but Elisa's aggression wasn't about to be subdued by the pleading tone of its outcry.

She head butted the mouse once, hard, knocking it out and stepped off of it.

After a minute, Rio managed to work the kinks out of his muscles and his paralysis lifted.

"No wonder I found Alex so annoying sometimes…" Elisa muttered, shaking her head in disbelief, "The whole bloody lineage of his species is pretty annoying."

Rio didn't comment.

They proceeded deeper into the field, trying to avoid high ground and dealing with more electric-types as they went. They even came across a Cacturne, much to Elisa's surprise, though the walking humanoid cactus didn't pose much of a challenge before Elisa's fiery attacks.

As they got to a very deep point in the field, they found themselves in a clearing with very little to be seen. It appeared to be a dead-end, much like in Entei's lava-field. Neither Elisa nor Rio could count how many lightning strikes were occurring around them by this point and they counted it a miracle that a natural bolt of lightning hadn't hit them yet.

"Try holding up the feather Elisa. It doesn't look like we can go any further so maybe we'll find Entei's… er, brother." Rio suggested.

Elisa pulled out the feather and held it aloft. A particularly loud crack of thunder answered this move and there was a loud howl.

"Here he comes…" Elisa said, quickly putting it away.

In seconds, a very large pokemon came running up and bounded into the clearing, coming to a swift, yet graceful halt before them.

This one didn't look like any dog to Elisa. In fact, it more resembled a panther or perhaps a tiger.

It was primarily yellow with shorter fur than Entei's and black, stripe like markings on its legs and torso (which is what made Elisa suspect it was more tiger than dog). Its face had what could've been a sharp-looking mustache with a plate-like crest that looked like metal on its head and a pair of long fangs jutting from its mouth, making it look a little like a saber-tooth tiger. Its back had a sweep of soft-looking fur like Entei's, with an appearance like a cloud that was a royal purple in color. It sported an electric-blue tail that looked like an actual lightning bolt.

"Hm! You are here to see the mirage, yes?" The tiger-like pokemon said, looking them over, "Then I, Raikou shall test you!"

Elisa could tell this pokemon was obviously electrical. How this could be Entei's "brother" was beyond her but she couldn't think on this as Raikou advanced on them with blurring speed.

Rio stepped up, attempting to slam Raikou with Force Palm. Raikou jumped to the side faster than expected and barreled towards Elisa, crackling with electricity.

Elisa had to dive out of the way as the tiger-like pokemon attempted to slam, full-body into her. Elisa rounded on him and spat a fireball. Her opponent was a little too swift to strike with it and ran around them, getting ready to strike again.

_Sheesh, this guy's seems like he's as fast as Alex._

As the tiger charged at them again, Rio shot forward and attempted to punch Raikou, a blow he shrugged off and Elisa attempted to crisp him with another fireball. The tiger didn't bother evading this and charged right on through the fireball, even as it hit.

He pounced on Elisa, electricity arcing around him. She couldn't evade in time and ended up with Raikou's full weight landing on her. The pain was further increased by the electric shock that flooded through Elisa's entire body.

Raikou charged over her, running back around for another strike as Elisa worked herself to her feet, shaking herself off. Her entire body was shaking and threatening to spasm from the electric shock it had just received. She wondered if that had been what it felt like to be in an electric chair.

_Ow…and I thought Alex hit hard…_

She turned to face their opponent once more, privately deciding the chair would've been a little less painful. Her confidence had taken a severe blow.

Rio stepped in front and readied himself to counter Raikou's next move.

The tiger halted short of Rio and let out a roar, accompanied by a bolt of electricity that flew from his back, hitting Rio squarely in the chest.

Rio attempted to strike, even as he was getting shocked but their opponent dodged out of the way again and resumed running circles around them. Elisa's old annoyance with Alex's tactics came back as she was being reminded again and again of similarities.

"Alright, enough playin' around!" She yelled at Raikou as he charged at her once more. She inhaled, readying her fire.

_Alright… when I was fighting Alex, I just wanted him to stand still. Stop running around…_

She focused on that desire. She wanted to make Raikou stop running around. She simply wanted to trap him in one spot.

Praying in the back of her mind that it would work, she squeezed the fire out of her belly and exhaled it with full-force at the dog charging her down.

Raikou was forced to stop in his track when the stream of fire hit and then proceeded to swiftly swirl around him.

_Bingo!_

The tiger growled and then roared as he attempted to send a bolt at Elisa. She advanced towards her trapped opponent, making the bolt fly over her head and hit the ground behind and Rio jumped over her a moment later, rearing back with his paw, similar to their fight with Entei. He lashed out at Raikou, his paw slamming into the dog/tiger's chest.

Raikou swiftly countered by attempting to bite Rio. Elisa was grateful that, though Rio was bitten, Raikou's long fangs weren't the teeth that sank into Rio's arm. Rio screamed from pain.

The large dog/tiger jerked his head, tossing the Riolu to the side and glared down Elisa, who returned the gaze.

_Alright… focus… focus…_

She didn't have much time to concentrate. Raikou was already preparing himself to break through her little fiery cage.

_Just need to focus. What do I want to do the most right this minute?_

It was a question that was harder to answer than she might've expected. There were a few different things she wanted and she couldn't be entirely sure which one she wanted most.

To protect Rio? To become human again? Or did she mostly just want to beat Raikou now?

There were other possible goals and Elisa's focus was divided between all of them.

Before she could decide on a focus, Raikou roared and a wave of force hit Elisa. It didn't hurt but it was like she had been hit by a sudden windstorm that swept her off the ground and sent her flying backwards.

She crashed into small boulder behind her and tumbled to the ground, only slightly bruised from the impact. The wind had also been knocked out of her and she got up, finding it intially a little hard to breathe. She looked up as she recovered to see the large, tiger-like pokemon advancing on her at high-speed. She wasn't in any condition at that moment to react.

Rio seemed to come out of nowhere. He came rushing in from the side, his injured arm hanging and jumped at Raikou. Before their opponent could see the attack coming and evade, Rio lunged forward with his good arm, his paw impacting Raikou's side with the characteristic **smack** that Elisa had heard so many times. The electric pokemon was knocked tumbling off-course while Rio tumbled to ground, unable to make his landing properly without his right arm. He landed on his stomach and for a moment, Elisa was worried if he was okay, but then Raikou, who was fighting a case of paralysis, got to his feet and snarled at both of them.

_Right… I need to defeat Raikou. Rio's bought me the opportunity so I need to make good use of it._

As Elisa tried to focus, she found it hard to erase all but one focus. Oddly, she found herself reminded of Alex's lessons to her for first mastering her fire.

_Hold on… actually, this is a lot like that time._

Indeed, Elisa had been giving her mind focus then as well. Removing other concerns from the forefront of her mind such as concerns about originally being human. This moment only had a few differences from then, one of course, being that this was not practice-time. It was battle.

_I need to put aside what's not important at the moment. Just focus on the fight._

That left Elisa with one goal, one focus to think on: Defeat Raikou. She could come back to other concerns later and some would be handled by accomplishing the one. It took her a moment to displace those other concerns, but when she was done, Elisa knew her focus was concentrated. She could feel the fire already.

"This fight ends now." She declared and, blazing outwardly, she charged at the dog, jumped into the air, and proceeded to bombard Raikou with an immense ball of fire that expanded in a beautiful, yet terrifying star-shaped blast on impact. The first time she had used the attack intentionally.

Raikou, his muscles stiff with paralysis, could not evade the fire, which inflicted him with both burns and bruises from the impact. He was knocked back to the ground and stayed down for several moments.

Raikou gathered up some strength though and got back up, shaking his head as his mind got things back in order.

"Hm. Well done. Present the red wing once more." Raikou ordered. Elisa dug through their bag a moment, before bringing out the feather.

When it was held aloft, Raikou roared, sending a flurry of electrical bolts from his back flying at the feather. The Vulpix had to fight the urge to take cover and evade the lightning.

The feather was hit and seemed to absorb the electricity, glowing. After a few seconds, the feather stopped glowing and it was changed again.

The feather was still red… however it also shifted to a shade of yellow when it was looked at from different angles. The effect was rather like the colors of a sunset, moving up and down the feather: red, yellow, and a blend of orange. The feather was starting to look quite beautiful now.

"I see you have learned much, young one." Raikou commented, speaking to Elisa, "Yet you lack control over your focus. Continue to practice that focus, even after you have met the mirage. It will serve you well. My last brother awaits you in the north. Beware of his skill."

Before Elisa or Rio could say anything, Raikou turned and darted off into the field, vanishing from view in the darkness.

"Wha- What did he mean I _lack control_?" Elisa burst out indignantly, "I oughta- _oooh_!"

Elisa was miffed, being that she felt she had just demonstrated a lot of control just then.

"Easy Elisa. We beat him, didn't we?" Rio said, getting to his feet, somewhat awkwardly due to his lame arm. He had a silly smile on his face.

The former human still could feel the fire inside her, making her warmer than usual with her temper but she decided to let the issue go. They needed to go find the last of these hounds and prove that they were worthy to see Ho-oh.

She glanced to the north.

_The last one, huh? Let's finish this._


	33. Suicune's Test

_**I'm hoping this is a good chapter, 'cause it ends on what I think is an interesting note. A lot of personal thoughts in this one.**_

_**At any rate, please enjoy.**_

PMD: Life in Flames

Chapter 32: Suicune's Test

Elisa turned her attention to Rio and his arm. He didn't have too many injuries on his arm thankfully. It seemed his arm was too small for it to be as severely hurt as Elisa had been when she was bitten. Though the Riolu did have a decent amount of blood oozing from wound on his arm.

"Let's get that treated first before we get go anywhere else, okay Rio?" She said, focusing on that.

She forced Rio, despite his protests of being just fine, to sit down and she started treating the wound.

"This might hurt a bit." She warned. She then proceeded to cauterize the wound.

This of course, simply involved her gently blowing a light flame on the wound. Rio tensed as the fire burned a little but after a minute of careful, controlled burning, the wound was scabbed over and any bleeding had halted.

She backed away from Rio, who ran a paw gingerly over the wounds. Elisa gave him a small smile as he looked a little surprised.

"It doesn't hurt as much, right?"

Rio blinked as he realized what she meant. He moved the arm around, wincing from some pain but he commented,

"Yeah… it doesn't. It hurt a lot before and while you were doing that but it feels fine now. Thanks." He looked impressed. Elisa couldn't help a pleased little giggle.

"My pleasure. Who says fire can only destroy and cause pain? It can be used to heal too."

Rio stood up and they headed out of the lightning-lashed field.

o0o

Once they were outside the field, they set up camp for the night and decided to get some greatly needed rest. Both of them were exhausted from the trek across the two fields and the battles they had gone through in both.

As Elisa lay on the rocky ground, getting ready to doze off with her head resting on her front paws, she contemplated the question that had been in the back of her mind the entire trip: _Do I really want to be human again? Do I want to abandon all of this and go back to being the human girl I originally was?_

She did not think this had been all a dream. It was quite real and everything she was seeing and had experienced had had its effect on her. She was sure everything was real. Rio was not some figment of someone's imagination, nor was Alex or Roserade.

Even if it was, Elisa was changed. She didn't blame pokemon for her troubles. She was no longer so shy towards others. She… felt alive again. Rick's death had blown a hole in her life, one she felt she could not simply go around, and this experience had healed those wounds. It had allowed her to move on.

_I have to go back…_

Reflecting on this, Elisa felt that if she didn't go back, she would not be moving on with her life. This wasn't her life. To claim it was would be merely making excuses to not go back what she really had. She wasn't a pokemon, she was a human girl… one who had made a terrible mistake and she needed to correct that… if she could.

_If Ho-oh turned me into this after I died once, she can revive me and give me a second chance at human life, I'm sure._

It was a painful decision, one that her heart did not want to accept. She cared about Rio. She was worried how he'd react to her decision to go back to what she originally was. However, there was one comfort she considered:

_Rio isn't like me. He helped me move on. He's not about to make the same mistake I did. He'll move on… he'll find someone else to be his partner. He won't dwell on me and suffer because of it._

Still… Elisa didn't want to force him to do that. She wanted to be his partner. She wanted to have fun exploring with him as an exploration team. She had found she wanted to spend her time as a Vulpix.

Her eyelids gently drooped lower as her final thoughts drifted through her mind:

_I want to do all of that… but I need to go back home. It's what's right… what… Rio would expect… of me…_

She finally dropped off into the darkness of sleep.

o0o

The next morning, Team Aura woke up well-rested, if not slightly stiff from the hard rock they had used as a bed. The night had held no nightmares for either of them.

"Alright, let's go beat that last dog and go meet Ho-oh." Elisa said confidently.

They made their way across the wasteland and they soon were at the northern reaches of the island.

Rio shivered and rubbed his arms as the wind picked up.

Elisa's fur stood on end, bristling and her body flushing with heat, instinctively defending itself against the cold that lay ahead.

Elisa had found the occasional apple back at the electrical field and even found a few things to eat in the lava-soaked portion of land. She was feeling satisfied at the moment but facing the cold breeze in the field before them… she felt grateful to have a full stomach.

She double-checked their treasure bag to find they still had two or three good apples stored away. They were fairly large apples too.

_Good… I get the feeling we're going to need them._

Elisa led the way as they entered the icy field.

o0o

Elisa had never been more grateful to be a fire-type.

Back in the active volcano, she hadn't paid much attention to the fact that extreme heat was nothing to her. She hadn't even paid that much attention to the fact that other fire-types could not harm her with their own flames. She found her control over flames intriguing and it was neat to torch things.

However, Elisa decided that having her own personal internal flame would always beat wearing a coat or wrapping herself in a blanket. The core of heat in her body staved off the cold easily and though the wind blew, she hardly felt any chill, even in her extremities.

Rio wasn't so lucky. Whenever they were not confronting a resident pokemon of the tundra-like field, Rio was very, very close to Elisa. He was shy about actually embracing her… coming into physical contact but Elisa finally set the issue to rest by pressing up against Rio, focusing so her body temperature climbed.

The field actually held more water than either of them would've expected. It was cold water, but water nonetheless. As a result, they were coming across a fair number of water-type pokemon, rather than ice-types.

Elisa found it difficult to torch the water-types, as they frequently came from the water. It didn't help that they drenched the area and themselves in water as they came. Rio risked himself and his body heat to defend Elisa though, darting out at the hostile residents and knocking them out before they could attempt to spray Elisa with water.

At one point, they rested in the middle of their trek through the field, keeping alert for any approaching pokemon looking to douse Elisa's flame. Elisa sat down, and after taking a minute or two to get over his awkward feelings, Rio finally just hugged Elisa and pressed himself up against her.

The former human did find this awkward as well but she just kept herself focused and allowed her fire to radiate heat, warming her partner. She had never been in such close contact with the Riolu before now.

_I need to get to the end of this. I need to find the last of these… dogs._

She found it a little difficult not to wish she could convince herself to stay with Rio. Her heart was pounding under these circumstances. She wanted to stay with him… badly.

_No… I have to go._

However, there was a great deal of heartache behind this thought and Elisa looked away from Rio. She really was in love with the Riolu, and she was only too aware of her affection. Rio didn't notice the few tears that slipped down the Vulpix's face. She had to fight a bit to keep her breathing fairly even.

_I'm human… I can't do this to Rio. I don't belong here with him._

She pushed down the urge to deny this and hardened her resolve. She was going to go back home and she wanted make the decision final.

_There's no turning back now._

o0o

The rest of the trip through the field was filled with plenty more water-types, such as Wartortle (bi-pedal turtles with furry tails) and Golduck (the evolved counter-part to a Psyduck that was blue in color). To say Elisa was cautious would've been an understatement. She barely evaded the brunt of a bubble-swarm one of the turtle-pokemon spewed in her direction, the bubbles that did hit lightly soaked her and Elisa quickly shook off the water before refocusing herself to blow a fiery counter attack at the offending Wartortle.

Rio was still cold but he defended Elisa to the best of his ability, slamming aggressive water-types left and right. Though he did not complain, Elisa felt a little guilty that she could not help her partner with the battles more. All she could really do was fight the best she could and keep Rio warm.

After a long careful trip through the field, they came to a clearing… with a very large lake before them.

There did not appear to be a pathway that went around the lake and despite the cold, the water was unfrozen and clear.

Elisa and Rio exchanged glances.

_This must be it._

Elisa was nervous now… she didn't like the water for a number of reasons. There was the natural instinctive fear of the fluid. Then there was the fact that there was so much seemed indicate what kind of pokemon they were about to face.

Nonetheless, Elisa dug in the bag and pulled out the shifting feather and held it up. The response was immediate.

A figure seemed to drop out of the sky and landed on the water. It didn't fall into the water, the pokemon was actually standing on it. A light ripple went through the lake and the pokemon charged across the water towards them. It leapt once it had built up a little speed, landing gracefully in front of them.

Elisa wasn't sure if this pokemon resembled a dog or not. It looked more like one than Raikou had… yet it was less dog-like than Entei had been.

On its head was a very large crystal-shaped crest, like an elongated hexagon. The dog was predominantly a dark blue in color and had diamond-shaped patches of white down its legs. Like its brothers, it had a white underbelly. Also similar to his brothers, this dog had a mass of fur along its back, purple like Raikou's, though there was much more of it on this one and it seemed… fuller… like there was more volume to it. Lastly was what Elisa imagined was supposed to be its tail… or rather tails. Two very long, white, ribbon-like tendrils extended forward, waving without support of wind.

"You have arrived…" the dog said in a quiet, yet serious tone, "I shall be your final test. I am Suicune. Come, prove yourselves to me!" He said tensely and crouched low in an aggressive stance.

Elisa had no sooner started forward when Suicune immediately inhaled and blew a violent spray of bubbles traveling at intense speeds.

_Whoa! I didn't know bubbles could **go **that fast without popping!_

She barely evaded the dense storm of bubbles, a few popping on her legs and causing her a rather great deal of pain despite being only a little water.

Rio had dived to the other side so the two were already divided. The Riolu charged forward, ignoring how cold he was feeling now and moving to slam Suicune with Force Palm.

The blue dog ran out of the way of his attack and howled before he advanced on Elisa.

Elisa's spirits took a dive when the sound seemed to call to the clouds overhead, which immediately started to deposit their contents on the ground below. It was raining. This hurt two-fold for Elisa.

First off, the rain stung. It was cold and it was wet. Both were aspects of the water her body did not like.

The second was that it was freezing cold. It wasn't ice but Elisa was already feeling colder as the downpour started.

_Oh man… I can't fight like this! It's too cold!_

She was shivering from cold for the first time ever as a Vulpix. It was an experience she hated immediately and would never want to experience again.

Suicune attempted to pounce on her, his jaws wide. Elisa managed to avoid being grabbed in those jaws, but she was still grazed by the teeth coming so close to her.

She tumbled across the wet ground and focused on her goal: beating Suicune… quickly.

This was enough to call up her migraine, which she promptly hurled at her watery opponent. He stumbled slightly as the psychic attack slammed his mind but he remained on the move, avoiding Rio's attacks.

Elisa tried to keep her focus up but her body was already protesting against the severe chill of the rain and while her energy wasn't being sapped by the pain, the stinging of the water coming into contact with her skin was more than a little distracting.

She tried to harden her focus but Suicune intervened and Elisa had to dive aside to avoid a deadly blast of bubbles going at impossible speeds.

Rio finally caught up with the dog and shot forward in the middle of the bubble-attack to slam Suicune across the face with one paw.

Their opponent's attack was cut short by this and he turned to face Rio as the Riolu quickly skipped back to avoid being bitten.

Suicune reared back on his hind-legs and as he dropped back onto his front legs again, from his mouth, out came a brilliant beam of colorful light.

Rio shielded his face from the attack, the light hitting him. Elisa thought she was imagining it but she thought there was some ice forming on Rio. Then again, given the local environment, freezing didn't seem that unlikely to happen.

Rio shook himself off after that and charged at Suicune once more.

The blue dog turned and shot for Elisa, leaving Rio to try and chase him down.

_He's targeting me_. Elisa thought, sure of herself.

She tried to focus once more, keeping alert for a water-attack from Suicune again. Her body in general was still warm, despite the freezing rain, but Elisa's legs and tails were feeling chilled. Her opponent inhaled and Elisa, hearing the attack incoming, dived aside preemptively.

The onslaught of bubbles rushed by where she was and Suicune attempted to pounce on her again before she could react further.

Rio had other plans for the dog though and Suicune was slammed from the side with the Riolu's aura-coated paw, knocking him off-course.

The two tumbled several feet to the side, both landing on their feet but the moment she looked at her partner, Elisa could tell he wasn't in any condition at the moment for a direct confrontation.

Rio was shivering and his movement was somewhat stiff. He was too cold to fight at full strength. The rain, the colorful beam's chill, and the water involved in all the attacks were causing Rio's body to go numb and Elisa could see he was too cold.

_But he's the only one between the two of us who can challenge Suicune. We need heat! We need it now!_

There was only one move that Elisa could think of that would do that. It could hurt Rio if she overdid it though. And she certainly had overdone it the other two times she had used it. Lost in rage.

She was afraid.

_I'm always afraid… if not of the judgment of others… then it's fear of someone I care for getting hurt._

Rio was going to get hurt badly… possibly mortally if she could not help her partner.

_It doesn't matter… I'm not afraid of getting hurt myself. I'm afraid of someone else getting hurt. Human or pokemon, the one I'm in love with is going to be hurt if I can't do something to stop it._

Her heart was pounding again and the air around her started to feel warm again. The water and ice around her was melting and some was evaporating as the Vulpix started to blaze despite the downpour.

_I'm not afraid of anything. Not water… not death… not of any pokemon. I'm not afraid, if my friend's life is on the line!_

She charged at the fight going on between Suicune and Rio. Rio was being pinned at the time, the large blue dog about to bombard him with water, when Elisa jumped at him.

"**Fire!**" She yelled and allowed all of her body-heat, all of her inner fire, to unleash itself on the area immediately around her.

There was an immense explosion of heat and flames. Suicune was knocked off of the Riolu. Rio shut his eyes, bracing himself as the corona of flames engulfed him as well.

When Elisa landed again, the area was steaming as rain continued to come down. She didn't stand for long. The cold rushed into her and Elisa passed out right then, too weak to remain awake.

o0o

Suicune stood up, only lightly harmed by the blazing attack. He shook his head, a little stunned.

Then Rio came at him and slammed the dog across the face.

Suicune staggered back, shaking his head again and looked up at the Riolu.

Rio was in a poor state, but the cold and ice had given him a measure of protection from Elisa's fiery blast. He was blackened slightly, somewhat burnt, and he was panting for breath. But he was warm for the moment and ready to fight.

The aquatic dog fired a blast of bubbles at Rio, who bowed his head and simply stood firm as the attack slammed him. He faltered momentarily but remained standing. He had several new bruises now, along with the minor burns that caused him no pain in the cold.

"Thanks Elisa…" Rio breathed; his words sincere. Then he charged at Suicune again, mindless of his own safety, attacking Suicune with aura again.

With the usual loud _smack_, the dog was knocked to the ground and Rio remained ready to fight, despite trembling from weakness.

Suicune slowly got up. He stood up, his stance no longer aggressive. The rain let up and stopped.

"Well done. You two are a fine team. I can see she will experience much difficulty with resolving herself to a choice." Suicune said calmly.

"A choice?" Rio echoed, as if he didn't understand.

"Yes." Suicune nodded, "Your partner may choose to remain in this world… as a pokemon, if she so chooses. However, she has much to lose with both choices."

"No… she doesn't…" Rio shook his head, looking away, "I know how Elisa sees me. I know how much she cares for me… but I'm not Rick. I'm not the human boy she first met. Even if I've never seen him... I know I'm not him and I can't replace him in her life. I'm not going to tell her what to do... but I don't want her to choose me over him or her family. I'm... not worth that…" the Riolu said, rather firmly.

The field-guardian gave him a small, mildly amused smile in response.

"Hm. Perhaps you do not suspect just how much she cares about you. You are worth more to her than you seem to think. But nonetheless, it is her choice… it is up to her when the time comes. Present the sunset wing, young one."

Rio nodded faintly, walked over to Elisa, picked through the bag, and held up the red and yellow feather.

Suicune inhaled, before firing a pure-white beam of cold that hit the feather, momentarily freezing it solid.

Then the ice shattered, and the feather was left.

It was a beautiful blend of colors now. Its base was a fiery red; towards the tip was a stripe of white, like ice. And the very tip was, oddly enough, a verdant green like grass. The feather as a whole no longer looked like it was made of stained glass, yet it was very beautiful to behold and seemed to shed an unearthly light.

Rio lowered his arm.

"If you wish, I am willing to give you transport out of this field." Suicune said, in kind tones.

Rio didn't speak… he just nodded.


	34. Memories

**_Here's a touching chapter. At least, I hope it is. Thought I'd put in some perspective._**

**_Enjoy._**

PMD: Life in Flames

Chapter 33: Memories

When Elisa finally came to again, she knew she was starved. It was the closest her body had ever felt to human temperature since her transformation. She was, in a word: cold. At least to her perception.

Fortunately, Rio had managed to pull out one of the apples from their bag before he had gone to sleep himself. The fruit was sitting conveniently out in front of the former human.

She got up and bit down on the apple, biting off a good-sized piece, which she promptly swallowed. The rest of the apple followed soon after and she sat there. A minute passed while she rested then she felt a faint amount of heat building within. She breathed a sigh of relief and looked around.

Rio had, as far as she could tell, somehow managed to get the two of them all the way out to the wastelands on the outskirts of the icy field.

Mt. Faraway towered over them a few miles distant.

She looked Rio over and then herself. She wasn't sure who was in better condition.

Visually, Elisa was better off. She had fewer actual wounds. The real damage to her had been to her internal flame and heat. She had little in the way of actual cuts or scrapes.

Rio meanwhile was a mess of wounds and bruises. Elisa had seen worse in her time as a pokemon but she still couldn't help a grimace as she gazed at a large scrape along the back of the Riolu's shoulder where he had apparently been slammed across the ground. The bite marks she had cauterized were now scars, though one or two wounds had been reopened in the conflict with Suicune. Rio also had an array of bruises across his front, all of which were healing.

Elisa tried getting up to find herself not only feeling weak but also a little stiff.

_Whoa… how long was I out?_

She settled down on her haunches, using some care and stretched one limb at a time.

When she noticed a bloody stain on one leg, she started to wonder about herself as her first impulse had been rather animal-like. The first thought to cross her mind was to clean it up… in the only way a Vulpix would likely know how.

For the second time since her transformation, she wondered if being a Vulpix was steadily turning to her mind towards being one. She just ignored the stain though.

_If it's there i- **when** I'm turned back, I'll just wash it off with a bit of water. No worries._

She had had to force to herself to think the word "when" rather than "if".

There was still that uncertainty in the back of her mind. She gave her head a hard shake.

_I can't stay. I have to go back and be at least a little responsible._

She looked at Rio again. The little dog-like pokemon was sleeping so peacefully, if she hadn't known better, she might've thought the pokemon lived a carefree life.

_We've both been through a lot… and I'm not going to accomplish anything of importance here. I need to get my own life back on track and I can't do that here._

Her mind argued against her of course. She _had_ died; that was the only logic she could come up with to explain part of how she'd ended in this world so there was the argument that her old life was over. She could start anew here.

_I've been given a second chance… this is only a test for me. A way to see if I can forgive myself and move on._

The power she had as a Vulpix was also tempting. She had, with Rio's help, impressed three very large pokemon through combat with them. Impressed ones who were, no doubt, legends. She had a lot of power… more than she might ever personally have as a human.

_It's not who I am though. This isn't mine to keep…_

Elisa's internal debate was cut short by Rio waking up.

"Rio, are you alright?" Elisa immediately spoke, getting up and walking up to him to make sure he was okay as he sat up.

He flexed his neck and stretched, joints popping slightly from stiffness, before answering.

"Yeah… I'm good. A little sore from that battle and the sleeping area but I'm ready to go." He assured her.

Elisa then asked if Rio had carried her all the way and he chuckled at the idea.

"Carry you, _all_ the way here? After that fight? Yeah, and you'll evolve into an Arcanine." He said sarcastically with a light laugh, "No Elisa… Suicune gave both of us a ride out to here after I managed to finish the fight. He dropped us off here and I used what energy I had left to at least make you comfortable before I passed out from exhaustion myself."

Curious, Elisa briefly dug through their treasure bag and found the feather. She gazed it, slightly entranced by the beautiful feather's newest appearance. The feather seemed to hold a mystical quality and Elisa could've sworn she felt a mild amount of heat coming off of the feather.

_It really is a wondrous little thing…_

"So. Are going to head to Mt. Faraway then?" Rio asked expectantly.

Elisa tore her eyes away from the feather and put it away before looking at Rio and nodding firmly.

She extracted a second apple from their treasure bag, took a brief minute to devour it, and then they got set to go and headed for the mountain.

o0o

After going through the three fields, Elisa found some relief in the lack of extremes about the mountain. It was mildly chilly from the heights and the wind, but sticking close to Elisa easily kept Rio warm.

The issue with scaling the mountain was the variety of pokemon dwelling on it.

Heatran had told them that there were ice-types living on the outside surface of the inactive volcano. He had neglected to mention though, that there were also rock-, grass-, fighting-, psychic-, and also some water-types of varying sorts on the mountain as well as ice-types.

The mountain was as a result, the most taxing of the four areas to explore.

They worked their way up, grateful to find food whenever they could and eliminating sleepless residents, grumpy from their restless nights.

Elisa torched a Vigoroth (an energetic, monkey-like pokemon) and Rio slammed it. Then they had to turn to deal with an Azumarill (an oval shaped water-type with long ear rabbit-like ears) and a ball-shaped rock with arms and legs, known as a Golem.

The rock-type attempted to pitch rocks at Rio, who simply swatted the stones aside and lunged at the rabbit before it could attempt to spit water on Elisa.

Elisa meanwhile, focused herself, and threw the strange migraine at the Azumarill, knocking it out.

Rio finally finished that brief fight by slapping the walking boulder with Force Palm and they left the residents, unconscious and beaten where they were.

That was only one of the fights they had to deal it on their hike up the mountain. Even more residents got in their path as they climbed but Elisa led Rio onwards, determined to reach the peak once more.

Unfortunately, two events heavily inconvenienced them.

Near the top, perhaps only a mile or two further up before the peak, Rio wandered into a trap. The trap in question, thankfully did no actual harm to him. However, he vanished in a blink of light and the next instant, Elisa was alone.

This wasn't the first time they had been separated like this. Warping traps like the one her partner had just stumbled across appeared with annoying frequency in most of the mystery dungeons they had explored. However, this time, the inconvenience of this event was magnified by the other circumstance of the moment:

It was nearly nightfall.

Last night, the moon had been barely visible. Elisa had no doubt that tonight held a new moon. Which meant the environment was going to be quite dark when the sun had gone down. Nothing but starlight and while that was pretty, it wouldn't be good enough light to see by.

This was only a minor issue for Elisa, who could light the path handily with her tails. However, being separated meant that Rio would not have the convenience of Elisa's firelight to guide him. He couldn't have been teleported far but they could spend some hours looking for each other. They didn't have that sort of time.

_Great…I don't have time to find him right this minute but there's no way I'm leaving him here in the dark._

Elisa had gotten lost before as a human and her parents had always made one thing clear: "Stay in one place and we'll have an easier time finding you."

She had little doubt the circumstances were the same here. Rio would have an easier time finding her if she stayed put. The problem was, the same applied to the residents of the mountain and there were plenty Elisa would rather not tangle with alone.

She looked around and wandered a short distance before she found something she could use: a cave.

It was a defensible position and she could simply sit just inside of it and glow like a campfire, drawing Rio's attention in the night.

She stepped up to the cave and looked around before turning herself around and sitting down to wait.

o0o

Night fell and as she had expected, it was dark with the lack of a moon to provide light. She could see perhaps two feet out from the cave before darkness shrouded her vision, hiding anyone who might approach. This kept Elisa awake and alert. She hadn't seen or heard any sign of the Riolu and she dearly hoped he was okay.

Due her alert nature, she heard some scuffling noises behind her. She wasn't sure what she was hearing but she could be sure that she wasn't alone in the cave.

_Someone's living in here._

Obviously, whoever it was apparently was nocturnal or otherwise they would've make themselves known sooner, before nightfall.

Elisa turned her head, ready to torch any who came at her in the dark. She turned around slowly, looking around the cave for whoever was moving about. She spared the area outside the cave one last cautionary glance, and when no one was coming, she turned back to the interior of the cave.

She padded inside, her senses on-edge as she remained tense, expecting to be attacked at any time.

Her ears caught a noise to her left and she quickly looked in that direction. There was an alcove that was fairly large. Due to the surrounding rock, the light stemming from her had difficulty fully lighting up the space.

She walked up to the gap, her fur now on end and her skin crawling from nerves.

She inhaled and then blew a stream of fire into the cove, hoping to light it up and see anything within.

Elisa's heart jumped when something lashed out out at her, interrupting her fire-breathing.

"No! _Go away!_" A male voice yelled and the Vulpix stumbled back as the something attempted to hit her in the face. It missed and the appendage, whatever it may have been, vanished into the darkness again.

Elisa's instincts had automatically readied her to counter-attack when she realized that most grumpy dungeon residents didn't bother speaking to her. She held herself back and spoke up.

"Wait. Who are you? Who's there?" she said, keeping her voice calm and level. For all she knew, it could be a pokemon that had gotten lost or something trying to scale the mountain. She didn't know… all she did know, was that her attacker was rational, and was likely just trying to defend himself from who he thought was a hostile attacker.

"No! Just go away. I don't want to hurt you!"

Elisa edged closer. Whoever was speaking was remaining in the shadows, where she couldn't see him.

"Easy. I'm not going to hurt you. Not unless you insist on attacking me." She said, trying to reason with them now.

"No. _Go. Away. _Or you'll get hurt anyways. No one should stay around me…" the unseen speaker said. Whoever it was didn't sound like they were afraid of her… rather they were afraid of her getting hurt. This confused Elisa for obvious reasons.

"What do you mean? As long you don't attack me, no one will get hurt. It's alright, maybe I can help." She said, still trying to reason with them.

"You can't do anything about this… it's just what I am. I don't know why. So go away. For your own good." They at least sounded calm now, though their tone was insistent that she leave.

Elisa refused to believe she couldn't help in some way though.

"C'mon, at least show yourself so I know what you look like." she spoke into the shadows, "That way you don't startle me if you change your mind or something. I **promise** I'm not going to hurt you. So please… come out into the light."

Elisa could hear the entity breathing and they were ready to fight, judging from their heaving. However, it soon slowed as they calmed down entirely.

"Very well… but you can't help me… not with this. I'm coming out." They said, their tone resigned.

Elisa listened for footsteps, even the faintest sound of movement, but she heard nothing and a moment later a figure hovered into the light glowing from her tails.

Elisa couldn't hold back a slight gasp and her eyes widened as she saw to whom she had been speaking to.

It had been no wonder she couldn't see him in the dark, as the pokemon was as black as the night itself. Coal-black. He hovered into the light almost like a ghost, his lower body resembling a skirt. His arms looked distorted, like someone had molded them from clay and then twisted them about and left only the vaguest idea of arms behind. The same went for his legs. His shoulders stood tall and flowing like they were part of a suit.  
>As the figure finished hovering into the firelight, the single visible, electric-blue eye caught the light and glinted slightly. There was a necklace of red fang-like protrusions around his neck. Covering the other eye and trailing back like a cap was a very long, white tendril.<p>

Elisa remembered Alex's description and this pokemon matched it exactly.

_Darkrai?_

She blinked, a thrill of panic flooding through her in that first instant and she took an involuntary step back. Then she saw the single eye that was visible… and knew that this pokemon was not about to torture her or attack her.

In fact, it wouldn't have surprised her if he broke down in tears. There was an immense sadness in that one eye. She could see in that instant… a pokemon who had been alone for as long as he could remember.

Darkrai saw Elisa's reaction and seemed to become depressed… or rather, _further_ depressed. He did not seem offended by her reaction. Rather, he hung his head slightly and his eye diverted itself away from her, as if he couldn't blame her for reacting that way.

"There… you can see me now. Now… for your own good… please leave." He said, his tone gentle… pleading.

However, now Elisa was curious.

"Who are you?" She said, feigning ignorance, "What's your name?" she tried to be gentle about the questions. She tried to sound curious, like she didn't know who he was.

"I… I don't remember…" Darkrai said, his voice pained now, "Please leave."

"No." Elisa said firmly, "What's your name? You _must_ know your own name." She insisted.

Darkrai showed a moment of annoyance with her persistence but he brought up a hand to his head and laid it across his forehead, like he was experiencing a headache.

"I… I really don't remember. I think… I think it's supposed to be Darkrai but I _don't_ remember and I can't be sure." The pokemon said. He truly sounded unsure; it was no act. "Please, just leave already. Being around me isn't healthy for you. Not for anyone."

"I don't believe that." Elisa said, though she knew full well that it was true. It explained why she had had nightmares the previous night on this mountain, the restless residents, and it explained what Heatran and Rio had been sensing.

_He's apparently not doing it on purpose because he's trying to get me to distance myself from him. His body must somehow cause nightmares of its own accord. And he can't do anything to stop it._

"C'mon. You seem nice enough. I just want to be friends." She said, trying to give Darkrai a friendly smile. He almost didn't seem to notice.

"No. I'm serious. Keep away from me." he insisted.

"Can you at least tell me how you came to be here?" Elisa asked, sitting down, which made it quite clear she wasn't going anywhere.

Darkrai let out an exasperated sigh and, finally letting her have her way, he closed his eyes, thinking.

Elisa noticed a few bits of wood that she figured Darkrai had probably gathered to make a fire for himself. She even spotted the blackened spot on the rock ground where he had built a previous fire. It looked like he had scattered the wood in a hurry.

_Probably from when I came along and he went to hide from me._

She gathered a few pieces of wood while Darkrai gathered his thoughts and, once she had built a small formation of wood, she spat up a fireball to light it. She then took a seat again and tried to look as friendly as possible towards the former villain.

After another minute, Darkrai lowered his hand.

"I'm afraid I don't remember much. I woke up in some other land, miles upon miles from here. All I had was a headache and only the faintest memory of my name. Even that, I couldn't be sure if it was my own or not." Darkrai lowered himself down until he was sitting near the fire himself,

"I tried to find someone to help me… and after a day of wandering, I found a village of pokemon. I stayed with them a few days and tried to remember while I was there. But… the pokemon there… they couldn't sleep… not while I was around. They were tortured by nightmares. And after only a day or two, I realized I was to blame for their suffering." Darkrai sounded ashamed of himself, like he had done it and then realized his error. He felt guilty.

"They found out the truth as well… I tried to apologize… but… they drove me out. I was forced to wander alone again. I still couldn't remember anything." Elisa could almost feel how emotionally hurt Darkrai was by this event.

"I wandered for some time… I learned how to defend myself… I met other travelers and I did travel with them… but never for long. After seeing one thrash about their sleep, I couldn't stand it any longer. I made sure to leave them before nightfall after that. I've been wandering ever since… for who knows how long. It's… it's been a long time since I last talked to anyone." Darkrai said, sounding a little shy.

"This… this is the first time since that first village that I've told anyone what I can remember."

Elisa gave him a smile.

"That wasn't so bad, now was it?" the Vulpix said warmly, "I think _I'm_ glad I met you." She said. Her words were sincere.

"In fact, I think I can actually relate a little, Darkrai." She added.

Her experience wasn't anything like Darkrai's… nor had she done anything nearly as bad as him before her transformation… but there _were_ parallels to their stories.

_I woke up here… I didn't know how to handle this body. We've both got dark pasts; we've done wrong. And I tried to distance myself from the others. Rio stopped me from doing that though. I also learned to defend myself. I travelled. Not nearly as far as Darkrai here but still… I traveled._

_And… I've felt guilt… guilt for what I've done to others._

_Darkrai… he may have been evil when Alex confronted him… but he's a different person- or rather pokemon now. He just needs someone to reach out and… well, be a friend. It's not easy for someone to be his friend but… I've dealt with my own pains already. I can take whatever he gives me… intentionally or not._

Elisa looked at Darkrai, she could see the shame on his face for the suffering he'd caused... and she felt sorry for him.

He was truly alone in the world.

_I could've easily ended up similar to him if I hadn't accepted Rio's attempts to be friends._

"Darkrai…" Elisa spoke up, her voice gentle, "Let me stay with you. Just one night."

Darkrai immediately looked ready to vehemently refuse to allow it but Elisa cut him off.

"I insist. I know I'm going to be in for a rough night if I'm around you but I can take it. Besides, I think you'd like the company." She said kindly.

Darkrai shrunk back a little, but in the end he looked up at her.

"…Thank you…"

And he smiled. It was kind… gentle… and above all: grateful. Grateful to have a friend.


	35. Calling Down the Phoenix

**_We're approaching the end of this story. I thank all my readers for their support throughout this story and I hope you have enjoyed it._**

PMD: Life in Flames

Chapter 34: Calling Down the Phoenix

Elisa's night was not pleasant. She had expected as much, given who she was sleeping near. This didn't change the fact that her dreams were inexplicably painful though.

At first, her slumber had been dreamless, just a blank space in her memory as she dropped off into sleep.

However, the night progressed and dreams attempted to visit her mind.

Elisa couldn't recognize anything.

Everything within the dream was twisted. It was dark. Elisa almost felt like she was floating in a void despite the blurred, dark figures that moved in her dreams. She felt alone, though there was something around her. She thought she might've recognized one or two of the twisted figures around her but it was too dark and the objects or beings too distorted for her to be sure.

This dream somehow managed to be scarier to Elisa than the twisted and painful nightmares of her previous night on the mountain.

She couldn't see… her ears felt like they were plugged by cotton, blotting out all sound… she could feel nothing but pain… it was as if despair was actively trying to implant itself into her emotions, overriding any other emotion she tried to feel. Like some sort of parasite.

Nonetheless, a corner of her mind was staying aware of what was trying to invade her senses. She knew this was Darkrai's doing through no fault of his own. That corner of her mind kept her resisting these painful emotions and memories that were not her own.

This experience went on for hours and eventually, Elisa was aware of her efforts to stop herself from screaming in agony. Her human mind was being burnt at the stake and she was forcing herself to just stand there and endure the flames.

Then, gradually, the pain lessened. The darkness let up, a little at a time.

Then finally, the pain seemed to almost disappear. What was left was a faint echo of the pain, which was still coursing through her nerves, almost making her feel numb.

She was left in a blank dreamscape, floating as if through an empty sea.

o0o

When Elisa woke up, she sat up to a great deal of stiffness. Her joints popped as she just got up.

_Argh… ow…_ She held back a groan.

She managed to stand up and, bracing herself for a bit of pain, she stretched hard, causing more joints to pop as she forcibly loosened herself up. It hurt only mildly, but that might've been because she had already gone through quite a lot of pain over the night. Compared to what she had just slept through, the pain of loosening up the tense muscle was nothing.

Then Elisa noticed that she was quite alone. She hadn't noticed in her initial waking pain that Darkrai was gone but now that she was more awake, she realized there was no sign of him. The cave was well lit now, with a slight amount of the morning sunlight illuminating it. It was a simple matter for her to use her tails to better light up the cave.

"Darkrai?" She called out gently, looking around in case he had simply wandered off to another part of the cave. However, she couldn't see anyone either towards the entrance of the cave, nor deeper in.

She looked down at where he had been last night when she had dropped off to sleep, feeling a little disappointed the fellow hadn't hung around. She wandered a little deeper into the cave and searched just outside but after a minute, she realized that Darkrai had left and he had already gone several miles.

_That explains why the nightmares stopped part-way through the night. He must have... oh dear..._

She realized that he must have left because she couldn't hide the fact that she was in pain that entire night. Surely, she had been rolling around, perhaps moaning... maybe even screaming if she had unconsciously been unable to hold it back. She still remembered the pain and her awareness in the night. She was pretty sure her stiffness this morning was indicative of just much rolling and thrashing about she had been doing.

She immediately felt guilty for forcing herself to sleep around him like that, forcing him to watch as she suffered through the night. She sighed to herself as she realized what she had done may have been selfless of her, but she had possibily made Darkrai suffer from guilt.

_I just wanted to show I wanted to be a friend to him... I hope he's alright..._

Elisa looked around one last time and, deciding she needed to go find Rio, she headed out of the cave.

o0o

There was only one location where she had any chance of finding Rio: The peak of the mountain.

_We were going to the peak, so with or without me, I think Rio would go there._

Even if Rio weren't at the peak, Elisa knew she would be able to use the height of the peak as a vantage point to possibly spot Rio. She hadn't seen any other Riolu on the mountain so she knew the moment she saw a Riolu, she was seeing her partner.

_It's not that far to the top anyways._

As Elisa started her final ascent up the mountain, she wondered what she would do if she couldn't spot Rio and he wasn't there at the top.

_I suppose I could call Ho-oh anyways… she would certainly get Rio's attention…_

Another idea that crossed her mind was just heading home, without Rio there to watch.

However, she found she couldn't stand this idea. She wanted to at least say good-bye.

_**Can** I say it? I… I can barely stomach the idea of leaving him now._

Once again, Elisa gave her head a hard shake, as if trying to dislodge the temptation to stay from her mind.

_No… I have to leave… no m- no matter how much it hurts._

She swallowed hard as she felt some heartache over her determination. She was leaving a friend… permanently. It didn't matter if she loved him or not… she was leaving her best friend in this world of pokemon. It would've hurt for anyone.

_I have to…_

She continued to convince herself that she had to do this, using the reasons had been repeating in her head over and over: she had to make right on her mistake. Use her second chance at human life.

She ran from the fights she knew she couldn't handle alone, and torched any opponents that she had better chances against. It was a hard trek, but she made her way forward, going up the mountain as quickly as she could.

o0o

It was a rather long time before she reached the peak of the mountain as she seemed to get lost once or twice and it looked like it was sometime in the afternoon as the sun was heading for the horizon when she arrived at the peak. Oddly, it had only felt like a couple of hours of exploring to Elisa yet evening was clearly on the approach.

"Elisa!"

Her ears perked up when she heard that very familiar voice: Rio.

To her relief, Rio was there at the peak of the mountain and had seen her almost immediately. He ran over to her with all haste and looked her over for injuries.

"Are you okay Elisa? You didn't get hurt overnight or anything, did you?" Rio said quickly, just slightly breathless from his short sprint over to her.

"I'm okay, Rio. I can take care of myself." She said cheerfully, just as happy to see him alive and well. Nonetheless, the Riolu checked her for injuries. He didn't find any that hadn't already healed.

"So what happened after we got separated?" Rio asked afterwards. He briefly filled her in on how he had searched part of the night for her after being teleported away from her. He had a few injuries from fights he had ended up getting into on the way, but he was in good condition, considering the state Elisa had seen him in in the past. When dawn had come around, Rio had found himself at the peak of the mountain. Unwilling to go get lost on the mountain-side trying find Elisa, he had decided to get some sleep with the hope she would show up at some point, soon.

He had recently woke up from his day-time snooze and started looking down the mountain when Elisa had finally arrived.

Elisa took a minute, acting like she was gathering her thoughts, to consider whether or not she should tell Rio about how she had met, and tried to befriend a former villain who had lost his memory.

However, she was a little worried about how Rio would react to any news of her meeting Darkrai. Then Rio intruded on her thoughts.

"Did you get a good night's sleep? You look terrible Elisa, like you didn't get a wink last night."

Elisa blinked, as she didn't have a reflective surface or anything to see herself with. But judging from Rio's words, she must have had bags under her eyes or something if he could see the rough night she had had as a result of her decision to sleep around Darkrai.

"I-it's nothing, just another rough night. My… last… night…" she said, ending somewhat sadly as the reality settled upon her: these were her final moments with Rio.

She decided right then to keep quiet about Darkrai. Darkrai's situation was saddening, to say the least but telling Rio could have results that went either way…

_And besides that… I only caused him further pain in trying to be friends with him. He didn't want to do that to me and I forced the issue. I don't want others trying to force that experience on him again._

Sadly… she realized nothing could be done for Darkrai.

However, she finally pulled her mind off that tangent and told Rio about what she had done, omitting Darkrai from events. Darkrai had left… and she likely would never meet him again.

Refocusing on the matter of importance at the moment, Elisa's mind was brought back to the fact that she was going to be leaving Rio soon.

"Let's get this over with and call Ho-oh, shall we?" Elisa said, her expression turning serious. Her pain was hidden under it though. She still found it hard to think about the fact that she was leaving Rio behind.

Rio might've been able to see this pain regardless though, as he patted her on one shoulder.

"It's alright Elisa. You can do this. You can finally return home." He assured her gently.

Elisa breathed in and breathed out a sigh, trying to lock down her anxiety and keep herself from bursting out with wild refusals to leave.

She walked, somewhat stiffly to the center of the peak, with Rio watching, stepping into the center of the small ruins at the top of the mountain and rummaged for a few moments in the treasure bag. Rio stood back, allowing her to take front-&-center. She finally extracted the feather, which she then presented to the sky.

There was a blinding glare of light that emitted from the colorful feather as it was held aloft. Both were forced to look down and away as the feather shined brighter than any lighthouse beacon. It seemed to illuminate every inch of the mountain and likely drawing gazes from all over Mt. Faraway.

Then Elisa heard it. Like a heartbeat. A hard flap of wings that was loud and the sound drummed on her ears gently.

The light from the feather died down as a figure approached, flying across the sky and coming their way. Elisa looked up and saw the giant bird, who flapped and flew around the mountain peak once.

It was a beautiful bird with plumage that seemed to radiate a light brighter, more pure than the sun itself. Brighter than any natural light.

The bird flew up as it finished its circle around the mountain and gently descended until it was flying in place before both of them, the wind from its wings lightly buffeting Elisa.

"Ho-oh…" Elisa murmured, gazing up at the shining bird past the air blowing across her face.

Past the light, Elisa could see Ho-oh's white under-belly. Her head, neck, and back were a fiery red. Her wings were clearly where the feather in Elisa's possession had come from as they were red towards the rim, white towards the ends, and finally tipped with a brilliant shade of green. Ho-oh had a massive plume of tail feathers the color of gold that made anything a Honchkrow might've had look quite pathetic in comparison. Ho-oh was not a bird one would cross lightly as Elisa could see her talons upon her feet. They almost looked as if they were made of purest gold to the Vulpix though that might've been the light.

And finally, Elisa looked up at Ho-oh's face. At the bird's eyes. There was a large comb of feathers, also a golden-yellow, atop Ho-oh's head and she had a straight, very sharp-looking beak.

Despite her fearsome and deadly appearance, when Elisa looked the bird in the eyes… she felt at peace. She knew just from looking that this bird valued life above all else. It would mourn at the death of even the most wicked entities, even if she never showed herself to them. Ho-oh… she was as gentle as any mother towards her children.

"_Greetings Elisa… it is good to see you again._" A voice echoed in Elisa's head, which she knew had to be Ho-oh. She was reminded again of her own mother, just like last time Ho-oh had spoken to her. Rio blinked, somewhat surprised, so it was apparent that she was speaking to both of them this way.

"May I return to being human now?" Elisa asked, speaking aloud and stepping up. Ho-oh gazed down at her, her wings slowly flapping, enough to keep her aloft in the air.

"_Have you learned who you are?_" Ho-oh asked gently.

When she had first been turned into a Vulpix, Elisa would've found this a very cryptic question that seemed obvious. She was Elisa… that was her name. However, Elisa knew now that the bird meant more than just a name by the question. Elisa considered her answer briefly before speaking:

"I am Elizabeth. I… I have alienated many who were merely trying to be my friends… and I was… I just wanted my best friend and the person I loved back. I wanted them back so I didn't have to blame myself for their death. I care about my friends… perhaps too much… but they matter the most to me. I hurt my family…and what friends I still had in my self-pity. I want to correct that now, if you'll give me that second chance." Elisa said, in the tone of one confessing their crimes.

Ho-oh continued to fly in-place before her, listening to her answer. When the human finished, a smile was perceivable on Ho-oh's face.

"_You _have_ learned._" She said, her tone gentle… but proud of Elisa, "_We all make choices… choices that affect others in ways we may not see. Sometimes we cause harm without intending to. And we lose those we value in life as well. It is sad… but unavoidable. You have learned of your mistake, you have learned to see the effects you have on others… and you have learned to move on. Moving on does not mean we forget those we care for… but to cling to them would drag us down from what is important._"

Elisa nodded, understanding. Ho-oh continued,

"_I will, if you wish, return you to your original life. I will give you a chance to correct your mistake and reclaim what you once had. However, in making this mistake in the first place, you have placed the burden of a choice upon yourself. Which shall you choose?_" Ho-oh's tone was gentle… but it felt grave to Elisa.

The final decision was upon her.


	36. Final Decision

PMD: Life in Flames

Chapter 35: Final Decision

Elisa let her gaze drop from Ho-oh's glowing visage. She needed a little longer to contemplate her final choice in this matter.

_I can go home now. Finally, this long journey is over._

She still could not say for certain whether she truly wanted to go back.

_I've never accomplished so much with myself before now. I've done so much and I can do so much more._

She looked up at Ho-oh, she hadn't decided yet but she had a question, which she suspected the answer to already:

"I… don't suppose Rio can come with me, can he?" She said, downcast.

Ho-oh shook her large head gently. The answer that Elisa had expected...

"_No… I am afraid I may only send you back to your own world. I cannot remove Rio from his place in this realm. If you choose to return, you must return alone._"

Elisa's spirits sank as the half-hearted hope was shot down.

_So… I will have to leave without Rio… I guess I'm not surprised. He doesn't belong in my world anyways…_

This didn't make it any easier for her to choose though.

She turned to face Rio. He had a somber expression as he waited for Elisa to make her choice. There was no surprise or shock over the conversation with Ho-oh; after all, they had spoken to Heatran and the three dogs (dogs, if in name only) as if to any other pokemon. This bird was no different.

"Rio, I-"

Rio raised a paw, silently hushing her before she started. He walked up to her and crouched down slightly they were face-to-face with each other.

"Don't base your decision around me, Elisa. This is your choice to make."

She opened her mouth to speak, to argue that she needed to consider Rio in her decision but he brought up his paw and gently shut her mouth.

"Elisa, listen okay?" she looked up so they were looking directly in each other's eyes.

"You're not the only one who has changed from this experience. You've changed so much about me. My mind's been sidetracked on my dad… and all this time, I don't think I've had the courage go searching for him. It's been a distraction for me and possibly why I've always been down on myself while I was in the guild. I was trying to outdo my own dad every time I went out and it ended up with me getting myself in trouble."

"How-?" Elisa started,

"How did you change anything?" He asked her question for her, "You gave me a different focus. You… you got me to focus on something that actually did matter. My dad's past, and his legacy doesn't really matter. It's something for me to try and beat someday, but when you came by, I needed to just focus on building up and taking things one piece at a time. What really mattered Elisa… was that I focused on myself and my partner; on my team. I've realized I can't do everything by myself but even if you leave, I'll find another partner to support me."

Elisa again, attempted to speak up and argue that she didn't have to leave but Rio was well ahead of her.

"Elisa, I won't forget you and I'm thankful for all that you've helped me with. But don't rely on me for answers. Don't base your decision around me. Choose what you feel is right, deep down… like me: just focus on yourself. You've been kind to give me consideration all this way… now it's time you made a decision without me here to help make it. You've always had the will to make your decisions alone so make use of that will now."

He then motioned for her to turn back to Ho-oh and give her answer, giving her a kind smile.

_He reminds me of Rick in some ways… he's helped me find and express myself. Maybe that's why I've gotten so attached to him._

Elisa sighed as she accepted Rio's words. She didn't turn around yet.

Her gaze dropped until she was looking at the ground as she thought over her choice.

_I've got so much to lose… no matter which way I go._

_If I go home… I abandon Rio… I abandon Quil, Roserade… and everyone here's who has shown me so much support and helped me with so much. I give up my abilities as a Vulpix…_

There was so much, both good and bad that she would lose if she went back home.

_If I stay here though… I'll be living a lie. I'm not a Vulpix… I'm human and unlike Alex, I've got the chance to be human again and I know what's waiting. I'll never see my parents again if I stay like this… I won't ever see another human being. I… I'll be trying to forget what I abandoned at home. It doesn't matter if I died or not, my parents are going be heart-broken… I don't want to do that to them. And besides all that… I need to let go of Rick and I don't think I'll ever do that if I'm with Rio all the time like this._

There was also the Riolu back at her human home.

She smiled lightly as she remembered the pokemon she had mistreated.

_He was looking for a friend… well, he or she. Either way though, I was so cold to that pokemon for something that wasn't their fault. They're not Rio, but if they want a friend… I can take care of them._

Elisa felt responsible for that pokemon and as she had told herself so many times before now, she needed to make up for her actions towards that Riolu. Something she couldn't do if she stayed here.

She also was, admittedly curious what had happened to it following her human death…

Elisa finally came to a decision and she looked up again at the pokemon that she had traveled with almost her entire time as a Vulpix.

"Rio… thanks for the support." She said, and then she leaned in closer to Rio. She gave a light touch with her nose on the Riolu's head, but the way it was delivered was like a small kiss.

She backed away from Rio then, her entire body flushing with warmth, as her feelings couldn't help arising within. Her heart seemed to have gotten louder in her ears.

Rio blinked, a little surprised by the motion and raised a paw almost to feel the spot where she had nuzzled him. To him, it just felt a little warmer from the brief contact but as the meaning of the act settled in, Rio flushed a little, embarrassed and the temperature was soon lost as his face got a little warm.

Elisa smiled one last time and then, dropping the treasure bag she was carrying, she turned to Ho-oh and stepped up to the bird once more. Rio opened his mouth to say something but Elisa's last action had left him momentarily lost for words.

"As much as I'd like to stay here with Rio… I need to go back home. There's too much I left behind there… and while there is a lot I can do here… this isn't my place… nor my body. This… isn't home." She admitted the last words in a sad tone, "I'm going to return home… as a human."

Ho-oh did not respond at first, aside from a faint, understanding smile. But she then spoke,

"_Very well… prepare yourself._"

Elisa inhaled deep, bracing herself for any number of sensations that might accompany being turned back into a human being.

Rio stepped up. Despite himself, his heart was throbbing now.

"Elisa, I…I'll-" he started, but the words simply wouldn't come.

She glanced back at him and gave him a final, sad smile.

"Good-bye, Rio." She said gently and turned back to Ho-oh as the great bird folded her wings inwards, hovering in-air for several moments without the aid of her wings.

Before Rio could say anything more or respond, Ho-oh unfurled her wings with an aggressive _flap_ and a bright red and yellow blaze of fire engulfed the Vulpix before her.

Elisa's ears were immediately muffled by the crackling and general sound of a bon-fire burning away around her. As usual, the fire did not harm her and the intense heat felt cozy to her.

She felt her four legs leave the ground and she hovered in-air, the fire embracing her gently. She was somewhat reminded of her final dream as a human. Except there was no pain.

This thought was corrected when Elisa suddenly felt a hard force in her gut, like someone had taken hold of something inside of her and was now trying to extract it out through her mouth. She gasped as the uncomfortable feeling spread and her front legs, which had automatically gone to wrap themselves around her belly, were slowly spread away from their protective position.

Finally, the force seemed to try tearing her apart and the last thing Elisa heard was her own scream of pain, which was overridden by what might've been falcon, then she blacked out.

###

_**Sorry to disappoint since many of you were hoping she'd stay.**_


	37. Epilogue: Rio

PMD: Life in Flames

Epilogue – Rio

Rio was forced to quickly step back when Elisa was engulfed by the sudden blaze of fire.

At first, he was afraid that even Elisa would not be immune to such intense flames but he calmed himself, trying to keep confident that no kind of flame could harm her.

"Elisa? Elisa!" He called, hoping she could hear him. He wanted to say something to her, just one last thing. She didn't show any indication that she had heard him though and even so, he could barely see her in the middle of the fire as she was lifted off the ground. He then had to turn his head away and back off more, as the fire hit him with a wave of heat. It didn't hurt but he could barely stand it and he felt he might get burnt if he stayed too close to the inferno.

"Elisa!" He yelled one more time, trying to project his voice, but then Ho-oh let out a loud screech that was, to Rio's dread, accompanied by a scream that he recognized as Elisa's. At once, the fire shot into the sky, resembling a comet and soon vanished from view, never to be seen again.

Ho-oh was still present and flapped a couple more times, keeping herself aloft before landing and took a moment to clearly recover from her effort.

"Is… is she going to be alright?" Rio asked Ho-oh nervously, still staring up at the sky where his partner had vanished.

Ho-oh breathed slowly, catching her breath before looking up and addressing Rio.

"_She will be fine. Transformation is not an easy or painless process but she is in no danger. I am not the only force at work here to accomplish this deed._"

Rio blinked, a little surprised.

"You… had help?"

"_There are many forces at work in the world. Your friend, Alex has seen and experienced many of them. But that does not matter. Your journey here has taught you much… I listened to your final words with your friend and partner._"

Rio scratched the back of his head in a shy manner.

"I just didn't want her staying just because of me…" he said quietly.

Ho-oh straightened up, gazing down at the Riolu, looking him over. After a minute, she spoke,

"_Hmmm…do you… regret your last words to her?_" the bird said slowly. Rio, who had been looking down at the ground, brought his gaze up quickly and shook his head.

"No. No, I don't. I really didn't want her to make her choice centered around me." He said quickly, then slowly continued after a pause, "I… just… wish I had thought... to say a bit more…" he admitted, his eyes dropping again, shy under Ho-oh's gentle gaze.

Ho-oh took a moment to absorb his words, before speaking again.

"_Elisa is not the only individual I have had dealings with. However, humans such as her are rare… hard to come by. I could see under her pain, that she had a decent heart… she has simply been hiding it. You are just as gifted, as you saw it as well. And you had the compassion needed in order to draw it out._"

Rio was a little befuddled as to why Ho-oh was telling him this but he shrugged off his confusion and contemplated her meaning.

"_Go now… Heatran awaits down below to return you to Veil Island._" Ho-oh said gently and then spread her wings, flapping once, which generated a gust of wind that swept a cloud of dust and scattered bits of rock in all directions. Rio had to raise one arm to shield his eyes and he also squinted to avoid getting dust in his eyes as well. The bird took off into the air and soon flew away, vanishing into the setting sun beyond the ruins on the cliff's edge.

Rio was left alone now. He looked up, watching Ho-oh fly away… and his gaze dropped until he was looking at the ground again… where he noticed the colorful feather on the ground, next to the discarded treasure bag.

Rio walked up to the treasure bag and slung it over his shoulder, double-checking the contents to make sure everything was in-order inside the bag.

Last, he looked down at the feather on the ground. He crouched down and picked it up, looking at the feather, which felt warm in his paw, like it had just come off of Ho-oh seconds ago.

Then the feather abruptly blackened, withering into a small pile of ash.

This startled Rio, who had gotten used to the fact that the feather seemed fireproof. Yet it had apparently combusted and was suddenly rendered a bit of ash right there. His first impulse was to drop the ash and clean off his paw but instead, he spent a few moments staring at the remains of the feather.

_This is what got Elisa and me here… even if it is just a bit of ash now, I'm not going to throw it away._

He reached into the treasure bag and opened up one of the many small pockets lining the inside of the bag. He then carefully tipped the ash off of his paw, into the pocket. He dusted what ash was clinging to his paw off into the pocket and then closed it up.

He gave the bag a satisfactory pat and then turned towards the mountain-side.

_Time to go home._

o0o

Rio's journey down to Heatran was largely uneventful as the residents seemed to have calmed down and there weren't nearly as many fights to be dealt with. Rio could sense that the unsettling aura that had been over the mountain had vanished overnight. He had suspected Elisa might've had something to do with it but in any case, the aura was gone and the mountain residents were in a less aggressive mood.

Heatran was not surprised that Rio came back alone, as he seemed to be aware that Elisa had been sent back to her home. They did not exchange much in the way of words. Rio simply approached Heatran and told the volcanic pokemon he was ready to go.

A few minutes later, Rio was back at Corona Volcano.

o0o

Rio returned to Silver Village to both cheers of praise for the news he had to deliver concerning their visit to the Ho-oh, and some glum expressions when several the pokemon of the island realized Elisa was gone, permanently. Many of them had gotten to know Elisa fairly well and were going to miss her. Others understood how some had to move on and go to places where they might not return. These individuals were just as sad the Vulpix had left, but they took the news in stride.

"You doin' alright without her, Rio?" Quil had asked the Riolu after he had shared the news and everyone else present had gone back about their business.

Rio was absorbed in his own thoughts however and Quil had to repeat his name to get his attention.

"Oh! Sorry Quil… what was it you were asking?" Rio said quickly, shaking his head to get it back in gear.

Quil looked quite concerned at this spacey behavior.

"I'm hoping Elisa leaving isn't going to result in you struggling at the guild again…" the Quilava murmured.

"Oh, oh no, I'm getting along just fine." Rio said, laughing, "I'm just thinking about something. I… I want you join me up at the guild." Rio said, coming right out with the request.

Quil blinked, a little taken aback as Rio wasn't usually quite so forward.

"Rio… I'm not Elisa. I'm no explorer." Quil said, thinking the obvious.

"I know Quil, but I think you're better than you give yourself credit for. C'mon, you've already gone on several explorations with me already, even one with Elisa along. I know you can handle it, so please?" Rio said, looking at Quil with pleading eyes.

Quil frowned as he met those eyes… and though he wanted to, found he just couldn't say "no".

"Alright…" he sighed, "Sheesh, I swear Rio, you have your dad's enthusiasm for explorations."

"I know," Rio said, now grinning happily, "I've been trying from the start to get you to join me but I just didn't have the nerve to insist before. I know you're good."

Quil rolled his eyes.

"You just better not try to sleep in while I'm around or I'll give you a hot-foot, then we'll see who's _better_." Quil said, flaring just to make a point and laughing. Rio laughed in return and led Quil up to the guild.

o0o

On the way, they came across Team Gangster. Honchkrow was still a little crispy about the feathers from their encounter with Elisa. Gliscor had healed though.

"Well, well, what have we here?" The boss-bird said, his tones as rich and smug as ever, "The dog's son and a fat rodent, I fear." He chuckled at the rhyme he'd composed.

"Who are you callin' fat, buzzard?" Quil growled. Gliscor glared at him and Quil backed away; Rio stepped up though.

"Yeah, I'm still my dad's son, but I'm not the coward I once was." Rio said bluntly, glaring down Honchkrow.

"Oh? Found a spine while out exploring? Those are plentiful… especially with my team. But then, we've got so much more than just that."

"Just get out of my face, Honchkrow." Rio said, irate. Gliscor swooped forward to deal punishment to Rio for his blunt words, but the Riolu's reflexes and strength had been honed from his time fighting through the fields and preparing to meet Ho-oh. He blocked Gliscor's claw, much to the flying-scorpion's surprise and smacked him in the chest with Force Palm. This had only a little effect and Gliscor made to strike again faster, when what looked like a flaming pinwheel came whirling forward like a firework and slammed into him, forcing him back.

Quil rebounded off of Gliscor and landed, his head and hindquarters blazing with fire.

"Get outta town Honchkrow." Rio growled, "Before Quil reminds you of what Elisa did to you and I add a few broken bones to the injuries on top of that."

He raised a paw, flaring with aura to show it was no idle threat. Quil added to it by flaring again, as much as he could.

This was enough to unnerve the leader of Team Gangster, who backed up a step. He took a moment to try to come up with a biting comment but in the end, he simply sniffed, "Hmph", then turned and all three flew off. Rio then turned to Quil, a grin back on his face.

"Told you you're better than you think."

"I suppose I am." Quil admitted with a little chuckle, looking a little embarassed.

"C'mon, I want to get you set up at the guild."

o0o

Roserade was more than happy to take Quil in as a guild member. There was a somber undertone at Elisa's departure but Roserade did not allow it to ruin the good cheer of Rio's return and Quil's new membership.

All the members of the guild reacted similarly, welcoming the Quilava into the guild with open arms (though Quil instinctively shied away from Croc) and many were a little saddened that Elisa was gone. Another point of disappointment to many was that Team Long Ears had departed a day or two previous. Many of the guild members had liked talking to and learning from Alex and his partner. Nonetheless, they took all of this in stride and, when bedtime rolled around, Quil was in a superb mood from the fine welcome he'd received.

o0o

That night, Rio stayed up a little while longer. He had pretended to be going to sleep then, once Quil was fully asleep, he had sat up and went over to the window that the sliver of moon was providing light through.

In truth… when he had been lost in thought around Quil earlier, he'd actually been thinking about Elisa. He had been considering his offer to Quil before asking… and he was trying not to think of it as just replacing her as Quil had thought it was.

_I… I didn't really get to say good-bye. I…_

Rio, to some disappointment in himself for his words, had actually been hoping in some corner of his mind that Elisa might stay. He hadn't said good-bye… because he had been hoping he wouldn't need to.

_I said all that to her… then I expected her to stay…_

Rio wanted to slap himself.

He sighed instead and stared up at the moon outside. He felt a pain in his chest as he gazed out into the night, thinking about how he had felt about his original partner. He blinked and wiped his eyes, reining in his feelings and breathed in and out slowly to keep himself under control.

He gazed up at the sky one last time, almost as if he was hoping to see that comet shooting across the sky, towards home.

"Good-bye… Elisa…" He finally murmured quietly. He just hoped… somewhere out there… that she might hear… or sense his words. Those last words he had meant to say.

He then headed back to bed and lay down, tilting his head so he looked at Quil, snoring away.

He managed a smile, happy to have a partner at least, human or not.

_I hope we both make the most of our lives, wherever she may be._

He would never forget Elisa… or what she had done for him.

With those thoughts of gratitude towards the human, he dozed off.


	38. Epilogue: Elisa

**_This is the final chapter._**

**_Thanks again for reading and keep an eye out for more fan-fiction I put up._**

PMD: Life in Flames

Epilogue – Elisa

Elisa became aware again, to a feeling of heat. This was nothing unusual to her by this point. She was a little worried initially though when the heat started to fade away. Her mind had become adapted to being a Vulpix so it experienced some panic with the receding heat.

Eventually though, her temperature dropped until it reached a point that felt cool… but not uncomfortable.

She lay where she was, on her back, listening to her surroundings. It was almost completely silent.

She slowly opened her eyes, blinking. She found it strange, but she felt like she had gone to sleep. Being her last memory was of that wrenching pain, this surprised her.

_How'd I fall asleep under that kind of pain? Maybe I passed out?_

She brought up a hand and rubbed her eyes. Then it dawned on her what she was doing and she brought her hand away to see that it was, indeed, a human hand. The fact that she was on her back and not uncomfortable should've been a sign but until just then, her mind had been half-awake at best.

She looked herself over and found she was wearing her usual shirt and jeans. She brought up a hand and felt the hat on her head. She even felt around her head, grabbing a small lock of her own hair and holding out a bit to look at it. She rolled it around between her fingers. Soft and supple… almost like the fur of a Vulpix.

_I'm… I'm back._

Anyone else might've whooped to be alive and perhaps, to be human again. Elisa just felt relief and settled back down on the couch she was sitting on, letting out a sigh. She took a moment to reflect on what she had just experienced.

_Already… It feels like it was just a dream. Like I just dozed off on the couch, thinking I had gone to bed… and had a nightmare… or perhaps a pleasant, if not unusual, dream._

However, Elisa wasn't about to think of Rio as anything but someone, a pokemon, that she had actually met and talked with. Someone… she knew like her own parents.

Thinking about Rio reminded Elisa of what she had promised herself to do when she got back.

_That Riolu… I put him outside the apartment. Hope he hasn't run off!_

She sat up quickly, the designer magazine across her chest sliding off, onto the floor. She then walked quickly over to the door out and proceeded downstairs as quickly as possible.

o0o

Elisa opened the door to outside to the dark of night and the clear sounds of a fight going on.

She then heard a sharp, pained yip and she turned to look in the direction of the noise.

At the bottom of the stairs going from the landing, was a fight going on between the Riolu… and the Growlithe Elisa had chased off previously.

The fire-type dog _was_ shy around humans, however other pokemon were a different story. In fact, the Growlithe was highly territorial towards other pokemon. As far as it was concerned, the unfortunate Riolu was encroaching on his turf.

The Growlithe's opponent was, to his credit, stubborn and loyal, and quite unwilling to back down. However mistreated he had been by Elisa, he knew this structure to be the only home he had so he would defend it to the bitter end. He was covered in burns and he while he had been trying to fight back, the Growlithe was a tough opponent and was being evasive.

"Hey!" Elisa yelled, just as the Growlithe inhaled to spit more flames at the Riolu. The dog didn't seem to hear and Elisa started forward, intending to fight the dog herself, when her foot hit something.

She looked down to see a crumpled-up, empty can of soda someone had uncaringly discarded and left on the ground. The redhead promptly and swiftly bent down, swept the disk-like piece of garbage up in one hand and then proceeded to pitch it at the dog.

It bounced off the dog's head, interrupting its attack and it shook its head, momentarily confused. That moment was all the Riolu needed. It quickly advanced and lunged at the Growlithe.

_Smack!_

The canine tumbled away and got up, paralysis setting in. By the time it was on its feet, Elisa was down the steps and standing in the way.

"Get!" Elisa snapped at it sharply. She was prepared to kick the dog if needed, even if she got burned doing so.

That was all it took though. Cowed by the pokemon's blow and intimidated by the human, the dog backed down and ran off, stumbling a bit under it paralysis.

She then turned to her attention to the Riolu and crouched down to its level.

"You okay?" she said. She felt like she was facing Rio again, so a level of emotion got into her tone.

The blue dog, blinked, clearly a little confused by Elisa's tone, as it hadn't heard such a gentle or caring sentence come from her mouth before now.

Then it quivered, gripping one of the burns and passed out. Elisa had to quickly catch the pokemon before it hit the ground. Once again, her experience as a Vulpix resulted in her surprise when the Riolu felt relatively light in her arms. Rio had been heavy for a Vulpix to carry, but for a human, a Riolu was like handing an infant.

Elisa held back a curse and looked over the pokemon. The burns were pretty bad… there were even one or two patches of third-degree burns. However Elisa remembered that she wasn't in a pokemon world anymore. She was in her human world that had a Pokemon Center in-town. She promptly lifted the Riolu up and cradled it as she ran the pokemon down to the Center to get its injuries treated.

o0o

While the nurse at the Center handled the Riolu's injuries and treated the burns, Elisa went back over to the apartment for a brief look around to check for damages to the building.

She could see that the fight had been small, yet severe. The bushes planted in front of the apartment were crisped.

That's when an idea came to her mind.

She glanced up at the area over the bushes… there was an apartment window someone had left open. Perhaps to try and keep things cool inside without using electrical power to do so.

_The chances are slim… but… if those bushes caught fire… sparks and flames could get in there… set the drapes on fire… then…_

The results were easily imaginable. The fight had been close to the plants.

_Was all of this coincidence? This window open? The fire system on the fritz? It just happened to be what occurred?_

Elisa was only too aware that she had averted her fate of death… by simply interrupting the fight.

_But then again… if I hadn't put the Riolu outside… that Growlithe wouldn't have had anyone to pick a fight with in the first place. It certainly didn't light up the plants on purpose. It was just fighting over territory…_

Her observations were cut-short by the click of heels on the pavement and Elisa looked back to see the nurse from the Center coming up to inform her that the pokemon she had brought in was almost healed and only needed a little more time to recover.

Elisa nodded, thanked the nurse for the information and glanced back one more time. She felt some guilt… and regret. She had brought about her own death it seemed… in a roundabout fashion. And the Riolu had likely died trying to defend itself alone.

_I've changed that now though… and I'm not going to let it happen again if I can help it._

Elisa took firm hold of that comforting thought and followed the nurse back to the Center.

o0o

Half an hour later, Elisa walked back into her apartment, gently leading the fully-healed Riolu inside by the paw. Once they were inside, she turned the Riolu around and crouched down again so she was eye-to-eye with the pokemon. After all her time with Rio, Elisa was used to being on this level with any pokemon and it felt more normal to her than talking down to any of them.

Elisa was about to apologize to the Riolu for her behavior towards it, when she noticed the pokemon's expression seemed downcast.

"Hey, is something wrong? It's not your fault, I was being unfair to you. I am sorry about how I was treating you." She started. The Riolu gently shook its head though and reached out towards her face. It was a slow, gentle move; no aggression. Curious what it wanted, she leaned forward a little to allow it to do so and its paw gently came to rest on Elisa's cheek.

A moment later, an odd feeling of guilt flowed into Elisa's mind. It was weird as the guilt felt instinctively out of place in her mind. Like it wasn't her guilt, it was someone else's. After a minute, she realized as she looked at the Riolu's expression, that it had just transmitted its feelings into her mind.

"Did… did you do that?" she blinked, stunned. She actually had been experiencing this from the Riolu before but she hadn't been so receptive then and as a result, the feelings hadn't come through so clearly.

The pokemon nodded its head in a very meek fashion. It was feeling guilty, Elisa could see that much.

_I wonder… is it another aura ability they have?_

At first she wondered why Rio had never told her about this ability, but when she really considered it, she realized there hadn't been a reason to. They had been able to simply talk. Communicate in the most straight-forward manner possible. Now that she was human though, this was more or less the only way the pokemon could talk to her.

Once she had figured this out, she turned her thoughts back to the pokemon in front of her.

"Nothing's your fault. What do you have to be guilty about?" she said, giving it a kind smile.

The Riolu pointed to a spot somewhere behind her and Elisa glanced back. She saw a chair and a few other decorations and amenities of the house but nothing seemed out of place… though Elisa thought something was missing from the wall.

The pokemon then walked over to the chair and stepped behind it where Elisa couldn't see it for a moment, and then it came back out from behind the chair, carrying something. Elisa stood up, walked over, and crouched back down to get a better look at what the Riolu was holding.

It was a small pile of shattered plastic and bent metal.

It was only after looking over the mess and finding a couple of batteries (which were somehow still intact) that Elisa realized what she was looking at the remains of.

"Is this… the smoke detector?" she said, staring at the pile in astonishment. The Riolu reached out and touched her again. Elisa felt a foreign sense of curiosity wander across her mind… then she jumped little as a feeling of surprise hit her quite suddenly like someone had jumped out and scared her.

She considered the feelings the Riolu was sharing with her… then:

"You… were curious about the smoke detector here?" she asked, the Riolu shrugged, it expression conveying a message along the lines of "_Well, I suppose so_."

"And it startled you…" Elisa finished. The Riolu nodded and then indicated the mess between them.

It only took Elisa another couple of seconds to realize what had happened… and when she did, she had to hold in her laughter. It explained what was missing from the wall.

It was conceivable that the Riolu had climbed up on the back of the chair and, in its curiosity, had gone prodding the machine. No doubt in Elisa's mind, it had hit the button for testing the smoke detector and the resulting noise had most definitely frightened the little pokemon, who had reacted by smashing it. After that, he had tried hiding his handiwork but was feeling guilty for destroying something around the room.

Elisa, to the Riolu's confusion, found this extremely funny. It reminded her too much of a child just exploring and reacting in panic to a mess they thought they had made and were in deep trouble for.

_I didn't hear him doing any of this, so he must have done it when I was out on the town earlier._

Once she had subdued her fit of laughter, Elisa refocused on the pokemon, a bright smile on her face.

"Alright, so you did do something wrong, but I don't blame you for it. I guess you didn't know what it was. Don't worry about it though." Elisa assured the pokemon, who almost immediately exuded feelings of relief.

Elisa then stood up and looked around. She was going to get used to being human again.

o0o

It was while Elisa was doing some cleaning up around the apartment (getting used to walking on two legs and using her hands again), that something interesting came to light.

The pokemon apparently figured out what Elisa was doing and decided to try helping out. It started picking up any garbage left on the floor and helped Elisa with disposal. She had to stop it once or twice from throwing away something that wasn't trash but after a little while, it had a sense of what was trash, and what was not.

It was doing some cleaning up around the couch when it suddenly let out an excited yip and was staring eagerly at something it had picked up.

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" Elisa said, going over to her helper. It attempted to hide the something and Elisa gave it a very unconvinced look.

"What did you find?" she demanded gently. It was hesitant to show whatever it had found but finally Elisa got the blue dog to bring its paws out front. What it had, gave Elisa a bit of a start.

In the Riolu's paws, was a red cloth… and on the cloth was an exploration team badge. It was the same one Elisa had been wearing the entire time she had been on a team with Rio. Elisa had, in fact, long forgotten that she had been wearing it. The badge was quite small in her hand now and the cloth certainly wasn't long enough anymore to tie around her neck. It would've probably fit quite well on her wrist though as some sort of bracelet.

"Where did you find this?" Elisa said, blinking as she gently lifted it from the Riolu's paw. If it had come with her when she had been taken back home, she was a little surprised the cloth was still intact, considering how much fire Elisa had been dealing with all that time.

The Riolu had a resigned look and pointed back at the fashion magazine that was on the floor. Apparently, the badge had been under it, otherwise she would've noticed it sooner; so Elisa figured it must have been on her chest when she woke up and slid off with the magazine when she got up. Then another question came to mind to Elisa.

"You recognize this, don't you?" Elisa said. It was the only explanation for the Riolu's excitement over finding it. The Riolu glanced away, but slowly nodded.

_How though?_ Elisa was immediately wondering, _He can't possibly be Rio. Rio couldn't come with me._

As she was contemplating this matter, the little pokemon before her touched her again and she felt curiosity cross her mind again. It was asking her the same question she had just asked it.

Elisa smiled gently in response.

"I don't think you'd believe me… but this is mine actually." She admitted to the pokemon. As she expected, the Riolu immediately had a skeptical look as if to say "_Yours? Yeah, right._"

"I'm not lying, I assure you. I had quite an adventure with a Riolu like you." She said, with a serene smile on her face. Immediately, the Riolu's eyes widened and an intense feeling of wonder, curiosity and a desire to learn flooded into the human girl's mind. The Riolu clearly wanted to know more now.

Once again, Elisa was a little confused by the pokemon's excitement.

"I know it's interesting… but you're being awfully excited over this, aren't you?"

The Riolu made contact with her face once more and more complex feelings rushed into Elisa's head.

Longing… sorrow… an odd warmth in her heart… pain… guilt…

It was a lot to experience all at once and Elisa had to pull away from the Riolu after a moment to take it all in. At first, she wasn't sure what kind of message the Riolu was attempting to send her but as she looked at the Riolu again… she realized what it was trying to say.

These were all feelings that Elisa herself had been feeling about being separated from her parents. Feelings that were directed towards loved one that were gone or missing. She could see the pain of loss in the Riolu's eyes. He was thinking of someone he missed, most dearly.

Another minute of thinking on this and Elisa's mind finally connected the dots.

This Riolu missed someone… it had immediately expressed an interest in her adventure when she had mentioned another Riolu… it recognized the exploration team badge…

It was only a possibility but Elisa had to ask now:

"Do you… do you know a Riolu… named Rio?" she said. The pokemon's ears quivered and they might've straightened up slightly.

With a loud excited yell, the Riolu suddenly jumped at her and started saying a string of words in its own language, gripping her shirt desperately. Elisa of course, couldn't understand a word of what it was actually saying and besides that, its reaction to the name had startled her.

"Whoa! Whoa! _Calm down! Calm down!_" she yelled over the Riolu's excited clamor of words. She managed to get it to settle down and release her shirt. A minute later, she heard a knock at the door of the apartment.

"Is everything okay in there?" the person on the other side called through the door. The Riolu had made such a racket in its excitement that it had drawn the attention of Elisa's neighbor in the building.

"I'm okay!" Elisa yelled back, "Just a bit of excitement in here. I'm okay though!"

The neighbor took her word for it apparently as Elisa heard them walk away and go back to their own room.

She then turned back to the Riolu.

"Okay, so you know Rio. No need to strangle me for information though. However, you aren't Rio, are you?"

The Riolu, who was looking a little guilty for reacting so wildly, immediately and vehemently shook its head "no".

_Who are you then?_

Elisa gazed at the Riolu, truly curious. She spent several minutes staring at the Riolu as she went back to the puzzle before her.

_If that badge exists, then what happened… really happened so Rio is real and so is anyone I met there. But I didn't meet another Riolu besides Rio and… hold on…_

Once again, Elisa was working on pure suspicions. She had no proof… only ideas. And this ideas seemed nearly absurd... if it weren't for the transformation she, herself had gone through.

"Kale?" she said blankly. The Riolu blinked and looked up at her, the name having gotten its attention.

"Are you… Kale?" she repeated. It looked confused for a moment but nodded.

_Oh great Arceus above… what the heck happened to him? I thought- I thought…_

"How'd you end up with me here? And I thought you were a Lucario… that's what Rio seemed to indicate about you." Elisa looked over the Riolu before her… trying to see it as Rio's dad.

Kale shrugged, unable to explain by emotions.

The only explanation that Elisa could think of was quite a sad revelation.

_Did… Did Ho-oh save him from death, like me? Did she send him to this world? Why though? Why send him to this world? What does he have to learn?_

In the end though, Elisa couldn't think of why Ho-oh had separated father and son like this.

"So… you're Rio's… dad?" Elisa asked gently, now starting to feel sorry for him.

Again, the pokemon nodded slowly. He then reached forward and transmitted that feeling of curiosity into Elisa's mind, along with a sense of longing. It only took Elisa a couple of moments to figure what he wanted.

"Rio's okay. He was struggling along when I met him… but I think he's a great explorer now." Elisa assured Kale, "He helped me with my problems. He helped me to see what was wrong. I'm… I'm certainly never going to forget him." Elisa said, her heart throbbing slightly as she already was beginning to miss him. Kale lowered his paw and rested it over Elisa's hand. When she looked up at him again, he was smiling gently and she felt in the emotions that he knew how she was feeling.

Elisa felt herself flush a little, her face becoming warm.

"He… he means a lot to me now… and to you too. He is… your son afterall." She then glanced down at the exploration badge in her hand.

"Here… I want you to have this." Elisa said and gently pressed the cloth across Kale's neck, wrapping it around and tying off at the side, similar to how Rio had always been wearing his, "It's all I've got left to remind me of Rio… and now… you're my one connection to him. His dad." She said, her tone tender with affection. Once she had finished tying it around Kale's neck, she sat back and looked him over.

Kale flushed a little, gratitude clear on his face and flowing into Elisa's head.

o0o

Elisa's parents returned in the morning to find Elisa on the couch, with the Riolu on top of her, both of them sound asleep from the long night they'd had.

Later, after Elisa woke up, the girl took the blame for the broken smoke detector. Her parents were happy though that she was in a much cheerier mood and did not punish her. They were also quite overjoyed to find Elisa playing with and doing various activities with the pokemon Rowan had given her; not to mention Elisa declaring that she was naming the Riolu, Kale. Elisa, it seemed, had miraculously changed overnight.

Elisa never told anyone about her experience as a Vulpix (as she had no doubt no one would believe her), but she never saw pokemon as mere animals ever again. She quickly grew to have a great deal of affection for many of them, something that surprised those who knew her but they did not complain as Elisa was much more open and friendlier as a person now.

Rowan returned to check on her after a week, and found to his great pleasure, that Elisa now had an interest in becoming a trainer herself.

In truth, Elisa had found after her adventures with Rio, that she couldn't stand the idea of just sitting around the house. She wanted to get out and explore again, as a human this time. Besides that, Kale was just as adventurous as his son and was just as eager to go explore this new world he was in. Neither of them could be contained for long.

Elisa received an official trainer's license after a year's time of study and work. She promptly set out with Kale at her side on her adventure. She never needed a pokeball for the Riolu as he was loyal to her to the end.

Her journey would lead her to challenging the Pokemon League, a Lucario at her side, something almost no one had expected out of the girl. She never found Rick… however, her loss never dragged her down again and she remembered her past love with the same affection as she had ever felt.

Not once… did she ever forget Rio or her adventures with him.

**-The End-**


End file.
